


And They Were Roommates

by Affrettando



Category: League of Legends
Genre: And embarrassing times, College AU, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Modern AU, Mostly Humour, Slow Burn, coarse language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:15:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 44,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22928566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Affrettando/pseuds/Affrettando
Summary: Oh my god, they were roommates.
Relationships: Ashe/Katarina Du Couteau
Comments: 56
Kudos: 238





	1. Chapter 1

Katarina double checked the address on her phone, scrutinising the building in front of her. There were no conspicuous markings or signage matching the establishment she was looking for. In fact, the windowless building, nestled between a few industrial buildings on the edge of downtown, was dead silent. It wasn’t until she cracked the door open that she could hear the low steady telltale thump of a muted bass. The interior entrance was flooded with the dim pink of a neon sign hung over the mouth of a foreboding set of stairs. _Charmed._ Her sister really did know how to find the weirdest establishments. 

The bouncer at the top of the steps, who was probably more muscle than gray matter, gave her ID a good long once over before motioning for her to enter. Past the threshold of the entrance, it was like she had entered another plane of existence altogether. The music was now playing at full force, some sort of house trance music, she really didn’t care for it. True to form, Cassiopeia had chosen a swanky high end lounge that was off the map enough to be exclusive.

Katarina made a detour to the bar before finding her friends. One of the bartenders was a giant wiry spider of a man, neon lights dancing off the top of his bald head. His mouth twisted into a sort of ugly frown from what looked like scarring. Katarina approached him, and ordered a gin and tonic, alongside an old fashioned. She could see the man examine her face as he made her drinks, not hiding that he was looking at the scarring over her eye, and nodded in vague acknowledgement.

Armed with drinks, she set about looking for her sister. It wasn’t hard, Cassiopeia’s dark auburn hair had been done up with some sort of glitter that winked like stars in the club lights. Plus she had an entourage that would make any celebrity jealous.

Katarina sauntered up behind her sister’s lounge chair, and reached over to place the gin and tonic in front of the other girl. Cassiopeia glanced upwards and a smile lit across her face. 

“Kat! I was wondering when you’d get here.” She looked to the woman sitting to her right, “Shoo, shoo. Let my sister sit.”

Katarina ignored Cass’ judgmental look as she hopped over the back of the seat in the least lady-like manner, but her sister seemed to forgive her as she pulled her into a hug and a chaste cheek kiss. Katarina pulled away and looked pointedly at the man whose arm she was currently draped over.

“Oh! This is Zed. Zed this is my sister, Katarina.”

The man shook her hand awkwardly. He was picture perfect, almond eyes on a symmetrical face, and the type of body that you would see in magazines. 

“Pleasure.” 

Katarina caught a hint of what might have been an accent. She nodded in return, and turned her attention back to her sister, dropping a small gift bag on her lap. There really was no point getting to know any of Cassiopeia’s boy toys personally. They never lasted more than a few months. 

“Happy Birthday.”

“Ooh!” Cassiopeia abandoned her human armrest and rummaged through the bag. She lifted out the gift box, tearing through the paper wrapping with meticulously manicured nails—they were rich green and gold acrylic claws this time.

Zed peeked over his girlfriend’s shoulder to get a better look at the unwrapped present—a plastic case lined with cotton with a large rusted disc seated at its center.

“An old coin?” He stated not without a slight unimpressed tone. Katarina rolled her eyes at his attitude, this one wasn’t going to last a week.

“Is this _real?!_ ”

Katarina nodded, keeping a straight face, but reveling in the abject awe her sister was admiring the artifact with. It wasn’t often that you gave a girl who had everything something she wanted, and Cassiopeia Du Couteau had everything and more. In spades.

“A real Shuriman medallion, straight from an Egyptian dig site.” Katarina affirmed, “I even made sure to get it authenticated.”

Cassiopeia smothered Katarina in a tight bone breaking hug. She whispered a quiet thanks in Katarina’s ear, and pulled away, grinning widely. The medallion had cost her an incredible amount but seeing the smile on Cassiopeia’s beautiful face was worth every dollar spent.

“Where’s Talon?” Katarina searched the score of faces around them, looking for signs of their brother.

“Late. He’s working a shift until midnight. He said he’ll be here after.”

The sisters shared a knowing look with one another. The third Du Couteau sibling, had taken a break from school to earn money. He now worked high end security detail, meaning long shifts and late nights. Their father had offered to pay his tuition, but Talon outright refused any help. Cassiopeia had even tried to secretly pay for him, but Talon had found out her ploy and the resulting fight was disastrous. Though they never treated him any differently, they all knew Talon held his adopted family with a certain regard. They had been close at younger ages, but at some point he had gotten it in his head that he didn’t deserve the home he had been taken into.

Katarina melted back in the seat to watch Cassiopeia’s party unfold, slowly sipping her drink. She couldn’t recognise a single person. Her sister’s friends numbered so many it was hard to keep track of them all. They all showered Cassiopeia with affection, offering in turn to buy rounds of shots or expensive wines. All vying for attention that Cassiopeia danced around with giving, making sure to give just enough to get intoxicated on, but never enough to sate. She was the perfect conductor, not a single person ever seemed to be able to keep their eyes off her. 

And who could ever blame them? The youngest Du Couteau was the star example of a young socialite. Smart, witty, and as a spitting image of their mother, she was gorgeous to boot. It was Katarina’s running joke that Cass probably would bleed blue. There probably wasn’t a single person alive that she couldn’t get wrapped around her little finger.

On the other hand, Katarina wasn’t as much of a people person. Frankly, she would even consider herself the exact opposite. Sure, she held a close knit group of friends that she would drop anything for. But their earned loyalty was no small feat on their part. She just didn’t socialise in the same way. This was further highlighted with Zed tried to awkwardly start a conversation with her when Cassiopeia had her attention directed elsewhere. He bored Katarina on topics like about how he attended medical school, and other talk that folks usually have living their college lives.

Cassiopeia must have spotted her losing her mind, she swooped in gracefully with a hand on Zed’s arm. 

“Can you be a dear and grab me another drink?”

When he stalked off out of earshot, Katarina raised an eyebrow at her sister. 

“Four more days.”

Cass laughed, taking Zed’s vacated seat, “Oh come on. He’s cuter than that. Even if his nickname is the literal last letter of the alphabet.” She scrunched her nose up in slight disgust, “I’ll give him five days.”

“Eh.” Katarina offered up a shrug. She didn’t really get the games her sister played, but if she had fun, then who was she to say anything?

“Oh, when’s D-Day by the way?”

“Come and gone. Trucks dropped off some boxes this morning, and when I came home the boxes were gone. Maybe fate decided to have mercy on me and she decided not to move in after all.”

Cassiopeia snickered. “Or she unpacked. You didn’t even meet her?”

“No? The less I see of her the better.”

“Please tell me you at least know her name.”

“Nope. Maybe an Ashley Something?”

“Oh my god.” Cassiopeia bit her lip trying and failing to stop the huge grin from spreading across her face. “I can’t believe Papa is making you get a roommate!”

There it was. Katarina was waiting all evening for Cassiopeia to make fun of her for it. As much as she loved her sister, she couldn’t help but feel annoyed. Especially when the younger Du Couteau had a direct hand in setting up the circumstances.

Cassiopeia’s last fling had been a downright ass. He was self-centered, condescending, and kind of just your classic idiot. Katarina had reached her last straw a month ago when he said something less than savoury to her during Cassiopeia’s last club party. Perhaps she may have regretted the first punch to his stupid face, but every one after that felt too good to be sorry about. And of course, his buddies did then join in and maybe she had gotten arrested with them for causing a public disruption.

The thing about having the Deputy Commissioner of a national police force as your family patriarch meant that sometimes you could get out of trouble scott-free. On the other hand, it came with a catch. See, Marcus Du Couteau had big plans for his children. They weren’t going to live average lives if he had a say in anything.

Cassiopeia, he hadn’t really needed to worry about. She had taken after her mother’s intellect, double majoring in political science and law while balancing a healthy social life. However, he felt his older two needed slightly more guidance. He wanted them both to follow in his footsteps, and while Talon readily took up the path, his stubbornness in other matters created his own slew problems.

Meanwhile, Katarina was an entirely different headache. Though she didn’t outright object to his wishes, she had a penchant for getting in trouble. Which was not a good look for the Deputy Commissioner. Especially since she managed to start a public brawl in a club that ended up with sixteen injured.

Having royally pissed off her dad, he had gotten it in his head that Katarina needed to learn to get along with others more. Somehow he decided that she needed a roommate and thereby went and rented out half her place. He owned the place after all, so he was well within his rights. Still, Katarina was furious. The townhouse space had been hers, and now she was forced to share it with a person she didn’t even know. Additionally, Marcus dangled the threat of forcing her to move back home over her head should she not be able to stick with it for at least a year.

So in some sort of long roundabout way, yes, it was partly Cassiopeia’s fault.

“Don’t you dare laugh. I’ll make you regret it.”

Cassiopeia’s green eyes sparkled. In amusement. “Ha. Just you try, I’ll tell Papa you’re being disagreeable.”

Katarina flipped her a bird as she stood, rattling her empty glass. Cassiopeia only laughed again in reply, turning back to her guests to keep them entertained.

The bald bartender was busy, so Katarina approached the other; A shorter brunette woman with a sun-kissed complexion. Katarina leaned casually on the bar counter, brandishing a brown bill.

“This can be yours if you can somehow get the most embarrassing happy birthday song to play over that fancy sound system of yours.” Katarina placed the bill on the counter along with her glass. “And another old fashioned.”

The hundred disappeared in a flash. 

“I can make that happen.” The bartender replied. “I love embarrassing people. Who’s it gonna be?”

“My sister. Gorgeous sparkly redhead over there.”

The bartender nodded in obvious approval and walked off somewhere after making Katarina a fresh drink.

At the first tones of ridiculous children’s jingle music, Casieopeia stood, eyes wide. She found Katarina across the room, leaning against the counter. Katarina toasted her, grinning wickedly at Cass’ flabbergasted expression.

* * *

8 am classes were the worst.

It wasn’t so much the waking up early, Katarina was actually an early riser, much to the surprise of many. It was the traffic. By the time she had made it to campus, Katarina was ready to kill the first thing that spoke to her.

“Hey! How goes the house mate situation.”

Katarina glared daggers at the speaker walking behind her into the lecture hall. Sarah Fortune raised her hands up in defense. 

“Wow. That bad, I see.” 

Katarina relaxed, rolling her eyes. Her friend didn’t mean any harm, but Sarah was always one for pushing buttons. 

“Not really. Traffic was just killer.”

“Wow, you’re just going to leave me hanging on the whole roommate thing? What’s it been, like a month? Nothing juicy to share?”

“The juicy stuff is that there isn’t anything going on. I haven’t even met her yet.” 

Sarah’s perfectly sculpted eyebrows shot up. 

“I don’t really understand how that’s possible.”

“Perfect avoidance.”

“Oh please, only three things really make you leave the house and you’re telling me you’ve managed not to bump into her once?”

That was not true. She went to class, didn’t she? There was the gym every other day, and Cass’ monthly outings. And…

“Okay, fuck you.”

Sarah sighed dramatically, throwing a hand up to her forehead. 

“Oh, but I tried! You wouldn’t let me!”

“Very funny.” 

It wasn’t as if Sarah wasn’t pretty. In fact, she was drop dead gorgeous. A figure that anyone would kill for, and a complexion that managed to stay fair despite the weekends she spent sailing, anyone would have been lucky to have her. Except with her shock of crimson hair, and a snarky attitude, she reminded Katarina far too much of herself than she liked to admit. So she decided she wasn’t narcissistic enough to go through all that.

They took found seats in the middle of the hall. Halfway through the semester, considerably fewer students were in attendance compared to the size of class Katarina remembered it being.

She wasn’t sure when she fell asleep, one minute she was awake, the next Sarah was shaking her awake.

“Rise and shine. Class is over.”

“God, no wonder half the class doesn’t show anymore. Who the heck can pay attention for three whole hours?”

“Some of us don’t subscribe to the just-get-by method of passing class.”

Katarina stood and yawned, stretching out the kinks in her back. It wasn’t like she was dumb. You don’t just “get by” in third year. You did it by being smart and only doing the exact amount of work required of you. 

“Seriously though, you still haven’t seen your roommate? Does she exist? Are you sure your dad isn’t just messing with you to make you behave?”

“Oh no, she exists. I get to wake up at one in the morning when she comes home, and again at six.”

“Yuck. Is she some kind of party animal?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t care. I have no idea why you care so much.”

“Isn’t it interesting, though?” Sarah waved her hands in frustration. “You’ve been living with someone for three weeks now and you’ve never seen them. They come home super late, and leave at the asscrack of dawn. They could be a drug dealer, or a murderer and you wouldn’t even know.”

“I’m pretty sure my father would have done six background checks before they’ve even gone anywhere near the place.”

“Okay fine. Ruin my fun.” Sarah frowned, before casually looping her arm through Katarina’s. “Drive me home?”

“Fine.”

* * *

Fridays were simultaneously the best and worst days of the week. The only way to get the courses she wanted that semester meant she had three lectures every Friday, that on top of her gym sessions meant she was home until at least ten. It did, however, signify the end of a long week, and she did close out every single one with gorging herself on take out, and playing video games for the rest of the evening.

The worst feeling about being settled in on the couch for the evening with dinner on the coffee table, and game system booted up and ready to go, was realising that she had forgotten to grab a drink.

Katarina relinquished her seat, and grumbled all the way to the fridge for her beer. She couldn’t help but notice things looking considerably more cramped in the fridge. Tupperware containers of what looked like pasta, and rice meals meticulously stacked up alongside Katarina’s copious amounts of alcohol and snacks. Each container labelled with dates in neat script.

In fact, everywhere she looked, she could see signs that her house was no longer just her own. Heels and boots that didn’t belong to her lined up in the hallway closet; new bottles of expensive looking lotions and shampoos in the bathroom. Despite not seeing hair nor tail of her elusive roommate, Katarina could feel her space slowly encroached upon, becoming less and less of her personal haven. 

It was stifling and she hated every bit of it.

Whatever. There was no point dwelling on it. She knew her stubborn streak came from her father and he would not budge on the matter. 

She turned to head back to where she had left off, when something caught her attention. A single slip of note paper on the kitchen island. She approached to take a closer look, narrowing her eyes as she read it.

The handwriting on it matched the writing on the containers in the fridge, obnoxiously superfluous (who the hell even used cursive anymore?) and tidy.

_“Do your dishes.”_

What.

Katarina looked over to the sink where a small pile of dishes she had neglected since Wednesday were swimming in old murky water. She had been intending to do them tomorrow, but now, she had never before been less inclined to do them.

Who the hell did she think she was anyway? Coming into someone else’s home and telling them what to do? And not to mention the note was highly condescending. It wasn’t as if her place was dirty. Granted, not the tidiest, since dishes and laundry folding never seemed to happen the day they were meant to be done, but Katarina by no means would consider herself slovenly.

Katarina ground her teeth, the tension working in her jaw at her roommate’s incredible gall. Before she knew it, her feet had taken her up the stairs and to the closed door that was once a storage room. 

What was she even doing? Her roommate was probably not even home anyway. Katarina chanced a knock anyway, and when no response came, she pushed the door open a crack. The room looked drastically different than the last time she had seen it. She hadn’t really filled it with much before, just a few random boxes that she had to remove and unpack. But now it had been transformed into a livable space, albeit a simple one. Obviously, her housemate wasn’t much for decor. Besides the necessities, a simple bed, dresser, and vanity, there wasn’t much else in terms of personalization.

Katarina stole across the room to the desk, and more aggressively than she needed to, slapped the passive aggressive note onto the surface. A pen from a nearby pen holder completed her pièce de résistance with a “FUCK YOU” in response underneath.

Perhaps not the most mature reaction, but she would be damned if she let someone come into her house and boss her around. 

An unopened letter sat on the desk, delivered to an Ashe Frørdóttir. What a pretentious name. A perfect match for a pretentious roommate. 

Katarina left the room, slamming the door after her. If this was how her roommate was going to play it, then she clearly had no idea the sleeping beast she had just poked awake.

* * *

“Oh my god, what is that _smell_?”

“That, dear sister, is the smell of rebellion.” Katarina quipped from across the room without looking up from her game. She was just about to win for her team. 

“It smells disgusting in here. Oh god, are those your dishes?”

Suddenly Katarina was highly regretting giving her sister keys to her place. She didn’t need to see the mountain of dishes that had yet to be done. 

The past week had been a back and forth battle of post-it notes. Mostly nitpicking on Katarina’s unwashed dishes. Eating out as much as she did, there weren’t as many as there could have been, but she was now nearly on the verge of needing to go out and buy more dishware. 

“Just leave them, I’ll do them later!”

“No. Oh my god, this is so disgusting. I can’t believe you! How long have these been here?!” Cassiopeia’s incredulous tone rang out from the kitchen. Katarina couldn’t look up, she was just on the cusp of winning her match.

“AH FUCK!” Some idiot on her team just lost the entire game for them. Katarina threw her controller on the couch, and looked over at the kitchen door. Though she couldn’t see Cassiopeia, she could hear her voice floating out. Saying something about her address… wait.

Katarina stormed in the kitchen just in time to see Cassiopeia hang up her phone.

“Did you just hire someone to do my dishes?”

Cassiopeia looked over at her, flipping an errant curl over her shoulder. Her eyes were narrowed in annoyance and disgust. 

“Yes. Obviously. How can you even live like this? We can not have our party here if your house is in such an atrocious condition.”

“Fuck. I forgot.”

If looks could kill, Cassiopeia Du Couteau would have murdered Katarina multiple times over.

“I came over to see what I might need to set up for next week, and instead I found Mt. Slob.”

Cassiopeia liked to host a few big parties several times a year. It was nearly time for her fall reading week bash, and Katarina was unlucky enough to be the host this time. Apparently last time someone smashed an expensive Shuriman vase of Cassiopeia’s, and since Katarina’s house was ‘severely absent of any fine art’, it therefore was deemed the most ideal for a party.

“Does it even matter anyway? The place is going to get fucked up anyway, and we’ll have to clean it.”

Cassiopeia flared her nostrils and that was the signal to the end of the argument. Katarina gave one last defiant eye roll in response before going back to her living room. This wasn’t her party or her responsibility, so Cassiopeia could worry about taking stock of the place without her help.

Not fifteen minutes later, Cass’ voice came from the kitchen, this time sounding far more bemused than earlier.

“What the hell are these?” 

Cassiopeia popped out into the living room, a stack of post-it notes pinched awkwardly between scarlet acrylics. ‘Do your dishes’ and ‘Put your shoes away’ proudly sitting at the top. She tossed them down on the coffee table.

“Is _this_ why you haven’t been doing your dishes!?”

Katarina chewed the inside of her cheek, not giving her sister the satisfaction of a reaction. The silence that ensued told the whole story anyway.

“Seriously?” Cassiopeia sighed, “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised since stubbornness seems to run in the family.”

Katarina trained her eyes on the tv screen, ignoring Cassiopeia’s searching eyes.

“Don’t say it.”

“Say what? That I think papa might be onto something? That maybe having a roommate is good for you after all? That I think I love her already?”

“Shut up.”

“Oh come on Kat. Don’t be a bummer, I was just joking. Here, just help me figure out what we need to buy.”

Katarina only half-heartedly pretended to be annoyed as she shut her TV off.

* * *

When Cassiopeia went all out, she most certainly did not leave any stops in. Katarina returned from the gym the following Monday to see her sister must have been by (her and what must have been an enormous moving crew); The entrance way inside was filled with crates of liquor. All top shelf brands proudly lined up side by side.

She began to wonder what she had gotten herself into. Cassiopeia’s parties were hardly low key, but knowing her, she likely paid off the neighbours to be out of the house for the evening. Her reputation with the community meant as much to her as her socialite status.

Katarina dumped her gym bag in her room, her only solution to avoiding the ‘do your laundry’ post-its that had replaced the dishes one now that those had been done. It wasn’t like she was planning to leave them forever, but Ashe seemed to have a stick in her ass if things weren’t done the moment things came up. Worst still was the fact that none of Katarina’s aggressively worded responses seemed to phase her housemate. Not that much could be gleaned from hand written notes.

As she stepped into the shower, she let the heat ease away the workout aches, and as it usually did in the shower, her mind began to wander. 

She didn’t really want to think on it too much, but she couldn’t help agreeing that it definitely was weird she hadn’t met Ashe yet. Over a month and a half of waking up to late night entrances and early morning exits, of dealing with passive aggressive post-its, and still nothing. Even as much as she didn’t want to care, she had to admit it was definitely weird for someone to be so present in her home and yet never there at all. Almost like a ghost.

Katarina paused mid-step as she left the bathroom. Could she be imagining things now that she was caught up thinking in her own head? No there it was again, heavy thudding footsteps coming from the floor below—Someone was in her house. From the sounds of it, they were opening and closing doors, muttering in a low gruff voice.

Katarina held her breath, taking slow steps down the stairs, expertly avoiding all the steps she knew would creak. Now that she was closer, she could hear the footsteps approaching the stairs. Bracing herself, she darted around the corner, and delivered a sound roundhouse kick to the intruder’s nose.

Though her bare foot felt like it collided with solid rock, it was enough to send the man in her living room reeling. He was enormous, built of what definitely was solid muscle. Blood roared in Katarina’s ears as adrenaline sent her heart racing, her body reminding itself of the years of self defense training it had gone through.

She pulled back her elbow ready to deliver another strike. The man held up a hand in panic, his other one guarding his face.

“Wait wait wait!!! I’m not a thief! I’m Ashe’s boyfriend!”

Katarina pulled her strike just short of cracking him across the temple. The man uncurled from his defensive position, and winced as a little blood trickled from his nose. Katarina felt the slightest twinge of guilt at the sight, and awkwardly scrambled to find some tissues. Not enough guilt to apologise, he was still a stranger coming unannounced in her home.

“You must be Katarina.” 

Ashe’s boyfriend straightened up to his full height, towering what must have been at least thirty centimetres over Katarina. He looked like a cross between a hipster, a jock, and a viking—built like a linebacker with dark hair groomed neatly into a man bun, a tidy goatee to match. The letterman jacket he wore suggested he may very well be as much of the athlete as he looked. He probably would have looked far more ruggedly handsome if he didn’t have tissues twisted up into his nostrils.

“How did you get in my house… uh….?”

“Trynd.” He stuck out a hand, then awkwardly withdrew it as he realised Katarina wasn’t going to shake it. “Ashe gave me her key. She left her hard drive at home. I promise I’ll be out in a jiff if you show me where her room is.”

Katarina uncrossed her arms and climbed the stairs wordlessly, motioning for Trynd to follow. She pointed out the door on the right. 

“Thanks.”

Katarina watched Trynd from the doorway as he rummaged through a few desk drawers, and pulled out a slim black hard drive. Her wariness wore off, it seemed he was telling the truth after all. Now she felt slightly bad for kicking his nose in.

“Hey…” Katarina didn’t do apologies, not unless she knew she was entirely to blame. The best she could offer was some semblance of nicety. “We’re having a party this Saturday. You wanna let your girlfriend know? My sister can help her book a hotel if she wants, it might get a little rowdy in here.”

Trynd nodded at the boxes by the door as he put his shoes back on.

“That what these are for?”

Katarina didn’t miss the slightly wistful note of appreciation in his voice. She hesitated a moment before her still lingering guilt tugged the next words painfully from her.

“I guess if she wants to, you guys can come too. I mean… she does live here.” She left any negative sentiments she had towards her housemate unvoiced. 

Trynd laughed, “I’ll let her know. Thanks.”

Katarina let him out, watching him as he got into a pick-up truck in her driveway, before shutting the door. 

* * *

“Have I ever told you I _looooove_ your sister’s parties?”

In the dimmed light that Cass had an entire fucking lighting crew put up, Katarina’s house was completely transformed. The drab interior now pulsed with life, perfectly in time to the beat of the dance music blasting over the sound system. Live, of course; Some sort of famous Instagram DJ now commandeered a corner of the living room.

Cassiopeia had insisted on her downing a series of mystery shots in a row, and now nursing a beer, Katarina had become tipsy enough to not mind Sarah’s legs propped up on her lap. They were currently sprawled out on her sofa, which had been pushed against the wall perfectly for people-watching, playing smash or pass with the party attendees. 

“Does that mean you’d smash Cass? Gross, dude, that’s my sister.”

“Wouldn’t say no, but let’s be real here; I’d have to wait until she finishes going through every member of every male varsity team.”

Katarina raised her beer can up in a salute of agreement. “True. She did get a new boy toy literally yesterday.”

“Are you talking about me?”

Cass’ voice sounded cold, but when Katarina turned to face her, the amused mirth in her eyes told her otherwise. 

“Just talking about how much of a giant slut you are.”

The clawed hand on Katarina’s shoulder dug into her skin in playful warning. 

“At least someone in the family is getting some.”

Katarina rolled her eyes. “I like to call it ‘actually having standards.’”

“Don’t come at me about standards when you have such lovely friends.” Cass turned a winning smile to Sarah. Katarina probably deserved the kick she got in the gut from her fake gagging sounds. “Sarah dear, may I borrow my sister? She’s going to play some beer pong.”

Spoken more like a command than a request, Katarina knew this was a non-negotiable social request. Sarah removed her feet from Katarina’s lap and stood.

“Of course. I was just about to see if I could hit up Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome over there on the dance floor.” Sarah sashayed off to find her quarry, leaving Katarina to be reluctantly dragged off by the hand. 

“Don’t you have a boyfriend for things like this?”

“That’s who we’re playing.”

Cass lead her down to the ground floor room where a games table had been set up. Katarina hid her surprise to see Trynd’s burly bulk standing ready at one end. Next to him, comically juxtaposed, stood a small lithe man. He looked vaguely androgynous—long lashes over hooded eyes, a tall thin nose, and a delicate Cupid’s bow shaped his disarming smile as he held out a hand to shake Katarina’s.

“Jhin.” He offered, “You must be Katarina. I’ve heard so much.”

A lie, Katarina was sure, Cass had only just met him earlier this week at an art gallery. At least he had manners, better than the last one, she figured. She turned her gaze on Trynd, trying not to make it obvious she was glancing around for anyone that stood out around him.

“Flying solo again today?”

“She has a project due.” Trynd flashed her a lopsided grin, “But I’m all free for reading break so it’s PARTY TIME!”

“We’re all acquainted, it seems? Good. Let’s talk rules. 10 cups, best two out of three rounds.” Cassiopeia waited a moment for all participants to nod in agreement and then brandished a few ping pong balls. She smiled, oozing charm at the two men across the table. “Ladies first?”

Trynd and Jhin looked at each other and shrugged, neither voicing any dissent to the decision. At their approval, Cass lined up her first shot, tossing the ball into the opposing team’s center cup with the ease of someone who had hosted too many parties. Katarina tossed her shot lazily without stepping up to the table, the ball arced and landed in the front-most cup.

Both men scooped up the drinks, and downed the contents. Katarina watched with little interest, noting that Tryndamere in particular drank it like it was water—noting the low levels in the containers, she’d figured her sister must have used something stronger than beer.

Trynd, as it turned out, was not a particularly good shot. Perhaps it was overzealousness, but despite his frat boy appearance, his aim went wide and bounced somewhere off to the side. To make his lack of skill more amusing, Jhin’s aim turned out to be stellar. He somehow made the ping pong ball look like it had gently floated down into the cup. It was almost artistic. Katarina grabbed the cup and downed it. It burned on the way down. Vodka. Go figure.

The game continued, and despite Jhin’s good aim, it was hard for him to make up the difference with Trynd’s wildcard shots. The Du Couteaus won the first round without much difficulty.

The cups were refilled and the game continued. Now quite a few drinks in, Katarina could tell her sister was beginning to get a little drunk, her aim no longer as reliable as it once was. The second round started out much like the first, but ended in a close victory given to the boys.

As Cass went off to refill the cups, Katarina narrowed her eyes at Jhin.

“How about a new rule? When you sink a cup, your choice as to which loser drinks up.”

Jhin smiled back cooly, “I think it’s a little late in the game to be introducing new rules. We should have established that from the beginning.”

Katarina suppressed a scowl. Bastard. She had watched Trynd down both drinks for his team on multiple counts. “Wouldn’t you want to make this game more interesting? You’re not afraid are you?”

Trynd clapped Jhin on the back, “It’s alright dude, drink whatever you can manage.”

Jhin’s already pink cheeks turned a darker shade of rose in what Katarina hoped was embarrassment. He eyed the small crowd watching the game, clearly more than a little bit self conscious of his image. 

“Fine.”

The small audience cheered, less for the good sportsmanship, and likely more for the fact they could watch someone get utterly wasted.

Katarina glanced around the room for Cass, spotting her returning with a tray of freshly filled solo cups. Despite her obvious tipsiness, she still managed to carry herself with unparalleled poise. Which was probably ideal when carrying a tray of alcohol.

“Took you long enough. Let’s play.”

Katarina’s wager had been right on the money. Jhin was far more susceptible to the hard liquor than the rest of the participants were. Cass caught on immediately and soon Jhin was tasked to drinking every single cup the sisters made. Probably fair since he skipped out on most of them in the first two rounds.

Before long, his shots were just as unreliable as Trynd’s, and their healthy lead was slowly whittled down to one cup each. 

Trynd’s shot missed again, which was unsurprising at this point. He patted a teetering Jhin on the shoulder.

“Come on, man.” He slurred, “Last one! If you get this one, it’s just down to whether or not they can get the redemption round.”

Jhin didn’t respond. He had a hand across his mouth, the other gripping the table to keep himself steady. He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths through his nose. 

“You okay? Can you maybe throw up after?”

At the words, Jhin’s face paled. Then he was gone, bolting through the crowd as quickly as he could push through it. Katarina swore under her breath, praying that he made it to the bathroom.

“I guess that means we win by forfeit.” Cass goaded triumphantly. 

“Wait. Fuck. No, I got this.” Trynd looked around frantically. His face immediately lit up as he spotted something over Katarina’s shoulder. He lumbered forward on unsteady feet. “Hey! Babe!! Get over here!”

Katarina whirled around, and immediately regretted it as the room spun slightly. As her vision untangled itself out of the vortex of colours, she nearly had a cardiac arrest at the figure Trynd was pulling by the hand. The woman’s bright platinum white hair done up in a loose bun was the first thing she noticed. Katarina could hear her pulse pounding in her ears as she froze on the spot, fight or flight instincts blaring in her brain.

Her heart was still racing when she realised she didn’t recognise this person at all. She took a deep breath and allowed herself to relax. The tension she didn’t realise she was holding ebbed but still lingered when realisation eventually hit that she was seeing Ashe for the very first time.

Up until now, Katarina hadn’t been sure what to expect. She had pictured a shrewd, older, librarian-type. While Ashe was dressed in a business casual, and despite the hair colour, she was obviously quite young. Katarina knew it was the alcohol talking, but a part of her brain acknowledged that she was quite pretty. By the time that thought crossed her mind, she quashed it, and re-focused her attention to the conversation between the couple.

“Tryndamere, I was just looking for you. I don’t have time for this.” 

“Come on. It’s just one shot. We were just about to win.”

Cassiopeia crossed her arms, “Excuse me? That’s hardly fair. She’s clearly sober.”

“She can throw one from the corner of the room. That would be fair.” 

Tryndamere pointed to the cluttered corner where a makeshift bar had been set up. It was surrounded by people, and quite a ways away from the table. Katarina and Cassiopeia shared a look. Katarina shrugged. It was Cass’ game after all. Kat was competitive, sure, but rules were never something she was particularly concerned about. Besides, Ashe really didn’t look like she ever crossed paths with beer pong in her entire life.

Cassiopeia thought a moment before acquiescing.

“Fine whatever.”

“SWEET.”

“I don’t remember agreeing to this.” Ashe interjected, rubbing her temples.

“Just one. Please??” Trynd looked at his girlfriend with the woeful eyes of a wounded puppy. It was almost funny.

Ashe looked down at the ping pong ball proffered in his outstretched hand. She let out an exasperated breath and took it wordlessly, walking to the corner of the room.

Katarina watched as Ashe sized up the distance and tossed the ball towards the table. Whatever self-assuredness Katarina felt until that moment left at the same time the ball left Ashe’s slender fingers. There was something in its spin and trajectory that told her that the ball was going to land in the cup. Even knowing that, she still felt the shock and disbelief when, almost like time slowed and caught up again, the ball bounced into the cup and bobbed happily in the sloshing vodka. The cup barely wobbled.

The entire audience that had been drawn to the game erupted wildly. Tryndamere ran up to his girlfriend and smothered her in a bear hug, spinning around. Ashe peeled herself away from him, shooing people and their phones away as they tried to congratulate her. She said something to Trynd that Katarina couldn’t hear from across the room, and then turned to the door to leave.

There was a moment of pause as Ashe glanced back into the room, and made eye contact with Katarina. The piercing blue eyes unreadable, but Katarina could have sworn she caught a hint of pride in the look. And then she was gone.

“What the fuck?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I really wanted to write something chill and low stakes/stress. So this happened. Which turned out to be super fun because I wanted to picture a modern AU in which most people don't have epic-ly tragic back stories but maintained similar personalities. It was a fun exercise in balancing realism, and character accuracy.
> 
> Trying to decide fully where I want to take this and how much edginess I want to include later down the line, so the rating may be subject to change eventually.
> 
> (Sorry for any typos. I'll come back to fix it later.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey how's it going? I hope everyone is staying safe, and sorry I'm such a slow writer.

_Katarina was never particularly fond of storms._

_It wasn’t so much as the storms themselves but more of how the raw power in the howling winds and rolling thunder reminded her of just how small she was._

_Katarina hated being small._

_Small meant weak. It meant being powerless._

_Still... as little as she was, she knew she had to maintain her resolve, sitting as still and as quietly as she possibly could. The tiny shaking hands death gripping her sweater was a constant reminder to stay steadfastly strong in will._

_Time moved so strangely she wasn’t even aware of when she eventually found herself in her father’s arms as he whispered in her ear soothing comforts she couldn’t begin to even process. All that she could hear was the unrelenting storm raging outside._

_But wait—That wasn’t right. It had been clear that night, hadn’t it?_

Katarina awoke with a jolt, the nightmare faded away into unrecognisable images she could barely recall. The effects of last night’s party slowly made themselves known, and memories of the events eventually became easier to remember than her dreams.

The noise, however, as she now realised she had mistaken for storms in her dreams, had not faded away. A slightly muffled mechanical whirring that Katarina recognised as the sound of her vacuum cleaner, was running on the floor below.

Katarina groaned, stretching an arm out to grope for her phone buried somewhere in her sheets. She pried open a sleep crusted eye to check the time on the display.

8:30 AM

Katarina rubbed her eyes and groaned. She was pretty positive that she and Cass had scheduled the cleaning services to arrive at noon. Rolling over and covering her ears with the pillow didn’t seem to help much with the noise either.

Eventually, she gave up on her pipe dream of being able to go back to sleep, and threw her blanket off with a huff. The one time she wanted to sleep in, and it had to get disrupted. She found a clean tee to throw on, and padded down the stairs, ready to give her sister an earful.

While she had mentally prepared herself for a mess, it was almost upsetting to see her living room as trashed as it was. Crushed cups, snack crumbs, and beer cans littered the floor. The hardwood flooring was probably beer stained in more places than she could count. The sheer amount of garbage was disgusting to even look at. Katarina mentally noted to make Cass rent out a place in the future.

Her sister, oddly enough, was nowhere to be seen. Katarina blinked in confusion at the stranger in her living room that looked up at her arrival. No—not a stranger, if hazy memory served correctly. They had met last night, during beer pong. Though Kat had soundly thrashed Trynd in the redemption round, it didn’t do much in the way of numbing the sting of Ashe’s spectacular trick shot. 

“What the fuck are you doing?”

Ashe switched off the vacuum, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. Blue. Very blue. As icy as the dour expression on her face. She placed a hand on her hip, and raised an eyebrow. Katarina briefly wondered if the hair colour was natural or if she bleached her eyebrows to match.

“Cleaning.”

That was an obvious answer. Ashe has made some amount of headway in cleaning. She had managed to get three large garbage bags filled. There was still an incredible amount to clean, and Katarina toyed with the idea of not telling her roommate that they had hired a professional cleaning crew.

“I don’t think you’ve noticed the time, but who the fuck vacuums at 8:30 in the fucking morning?”

Ashe pursed her lips in disapproval and stood up straighter, taking a couple steps forward. Only then did Katarina notice a detail that she somehow missed with her previous night’s drunk goggles–Ashe was tall. Like a scary kind of supermodel tall. This was especially highlighted without Trynd next to her. That and the fact she looked like she had legs for days. 

Katarina would not have personally called herself short. At 162(.8) cm she considered herself at a perfectly average height. She certainly doubted that claim at this very moment.

“I figured I’d get a head start because I think we can both agree that this is going to take a long time as a one person job.”

Katarina took a sharp breath in through her nose and held it. Her jaw worked itself to barely keep her temper under control.

“You’re an idiot if you think that I’m just going to leave my house like this. There’s a cleaning crew coming in at twelve.”

Katarina impressed even herself with her relatively calm delivery, and let the statement sink in. Now it was Ashe who looked like a fool for being presumptuous. Katarina smuggly turned to the kitchen to leave Ashe to stand there in her contemplative silence.

As she poured herself a bowl of cereal, she heard the beautiful sounds of just desserts; a dejected sigh and the reluctant unplugging and stowing away of the vacuum. Katarina stood against the doorframe with her breakfast to watch.

“That’s what I thought.”

Ashe ignored her and continued to wind the power cord. 

“Say, have you seen my sister? She was supposed to sleep over last night. Dark red hair, green eyes—“

“Cassiopeia.” Ashe interrupted without looking up. “We’re acquainted. I haven’t seen her since last night.”

Well. That was news to her. Then again, who didn’t know her sister? 

Katarina shrugged and busied herself to pushing her couch back in place in front of the TV. Finally getting comfortable against a pile of jackets guests forgot, she was able to prop her feet up and enjoy her Sunday morning cartoons. Ashe made herself scarce, disappearing up the stairs without another word.

So far, her face to face interactions with Ashe had been every bit as pleasant as the notes passing had been. She was just as curt and to the point in person. Despite expecting it, Katarina couldn’t help but feel miffed. _This_ was the person she had to continue living with?

Kat twisted to fish her phone out from her pocket, shooting her sister a quick text.

[Katarina 8:43a]: _where r u?_

Every bit the prompt responder, Cass replied within minutes.

[Cass 8:46a]: _Sorry. Went home.  
_ [Cass 8:46a]: _I got the cleaning crew to bill me already so don’t worry abt it._

Katarina tossed her phone to the side now that she had done the good sisterly thing of making sure Cass was alright. She probably went off to bone her lightweight boyfriend.

She enjoyed her half hour of morning solace without interruptions. Until that was once again dampened when she nearly bumped into Ashe again on her way to the kitchen. It looked like the other girl was on her way out in jogging attire, white hair tied back into a high ponytail. Katarina forced herself to ignore how long Ashe’s pale legs looked in shorts. She carried on her way, pretending her roommate wasn’t there. To her dismay, she was followed into the kitchen.

“Hey.” 

Katarina turned around, eyebrow raised expectantly. Ashe stood there in the doorway, staring right back. There was something unsettling about how piercing her gaze was.

“I just wanted to say sorry for jumping to conclusions.”

Not really what Katarina was expecting, but she reveled in the reluctant apology nevertheless. She stood there for a moment, leaving Ashe to stand there waiting for a response. 

She gave her one eventually. If you counted putting her empty bowl into the sink (now nearly overflowing with cups), making eye contact all the way, a response. 

The hardened glare in Ashe’s eyes was so very worth seeing, as Katarina pushed past the taller girl to resume her morning of vegging out on the couch.

* * *

“Oh my god, you didn’t.”

Katarina motioned for Sarah to keep her voice down, looking around to make sure they didn’t disturb any other brunch patrons. On her other side, Diana choked back a guffaw to prevent spewing out a mouthful of brioche and egg.

“I mean, she was the one making passive aggressive jabs first. I was just giving her a taste of her own medicine.”

“That is definitely something you would do.” Sarah wiped a tear away from her eye. “Oh man, I feel like she’s going to retaliate and make your life worse now.”

“She already does! She’s home like… every day now.” 

“It’s only been like two days since the party.”

“That’s what I mean! She’s suddenly around now, and I hate it. She even had her stupid boyfriend over yesterday too.”

“Oh yeah. Beer pong guy. I heard what happened. I can’t believe I missed it.”

Katarina groaned, burying her face in her hands.

“It was so embarrassing.”

Diana, still chewing a mouthful of breakfast awkwardly reached over and patted Katarina on the back as sympathetically as she could muster. That is to say, not very.

“Okay, but you haven’t answered the most important question yet.” Sarah leaned over the table, “What does she look like? Is she hot? Is she a drug dealer?”

“If you’re into old hags. She’s got white hair for some reason.”

“White?” Diana finally managed to get a word in. “Isn’t that like—”

Sarah cut Diana off with a warning glare, deflecting the topic back on track. “How the heck did I miss her, then?”

“I’m pretty sure you were busy dancing with that guy at the party.”

“Oh. That’s right. Him.” Sarah pursed her lips. “I wasted my time. He was married.”

“Ouch.” Katarina turned her attention back to Diana. “Speaking of… are you and Leona planning to get married any time within this century?”

“Piss off, we’re still way too young.” Diana tucked a strand of platinum blonde back under her headband, avoiding eye contact.

“At least one of us has to have something good going on in our lives.”

Katarina barely fought the grin spreading across her face as Diana’s cheeks bloomed a hot pink. Diana Selinofoto was, by far, her oldest and most socially awkward friend. Teasing her was easy and the results were always hilarious because she was always so dramatic once you got past her resting bitch face. People tended to misjudge her as standoffish and unapproachable, which meant she didn’t have very many friends. But, like Katarina, it meant she held the ones that she did have very close. In their case, Diana has declared them friends in kindergarten when Katarina had offered to share her 64 pack of crayons with her (yes, the ones with the built in sharpener).

That meant Katarina was there for Diana to confide in about her massive crush on her next door neighbour. After about eight years of watching them dance around each other with cold feet, Katarina got fed up and tried to orchestrate a situation to get the two fools together. A bottle of Henny, three extravagant bouquets, a trunk-load of fireworks, and a totaled pickup truck later, things more or less went according to plan.

“If you’re that desperate for love in your life, why don’t you ask Fortune to get you a hookup. Who knows, you just might hit… the jackpot.”

While Katarina routinely rolled her eyes at the bad joke, Sarah’s eyes lit up and jumped at the opportunity.

“Yeah! Actually, I’m heading up the coast with some friends tomorrow. We’re going to sail out to this cute little island and camp out for a few days. You guys should come!” She eyed Katarina pointedly. “I can introduce you to some girls.”

“Love to, but I can’t. My dad wants me to go to a charity gala on Thursday, apparently I’m not allowed to get out of this one. ‘ _Good for the family image if everyone goes_ ’, he says.”

Sarah’s eyes met Katarina’s; There was a look in them as if she was trying to figure out whether or not Katarina was lying to her to get out of a social situation. For a brief moment, Katarina was reminded that behind Sarah’s easy going flirtatious nature was a sharp, calculating mind. She was almost as good with people as Cassiopeia was. You did not play poker against Sarah Fortune and hope to win.

“Ugh, sounds boring.” Seemingly satisfied with Kat’s answer, Sarah looked to Diana. “And you?”

“I’ll see if Leona’s up for it.”

“Oh yes, free certified lifeguard! Ask her.” 

Sarah gave Katarina a sidelong glance almost as if to tell her ‘ _this isn’t over yet_ ’.

* * *

Around this time of year, the city drowned in torrents of rain that earned itself many nicknames from its disgruntled citizens. This year proved no different. It was times like this where the sky tore open that Katarina was ever grateful for having a car. Even if it meant driving downtown.

“FUCK. UP YOURS, ASSHOLE.” 

All she got for her trouble of screaming out the window was a face full of rain as the car that cut her off peeled away. When she managed to find a parking space, her foul mood was further worsened when she realised she had forgotten her umbrella. By the time the bell in _Cosmic Radiance_ chirped above her head to announce her entry, Katarina was soaked to the bone, and pissed as hell. It was like the world had conspired to put her in a bad mood this week with full intention to keep her there. The receptionist regarded her with a surprised look that thinly veiled mild disdain at the water dripping down onto the likely expensive entrance mat.

“Do you have an appointment, ma’am?”

Katarina opened her mouth to retort but before she was able to get a word out, someone else responded for her.

“Katarina! It’s been too long, my dear. You look lovely today.” Taric swooped in, looping a large arm around her shoulders, not seeming to mind the drippage. Ever the picture of heroic grace, with his thick muscular build, and befittingly long flowing hair. He lead her gently to the salon area behind the wall shrouding the rest of the establishment, waving off the attention of the receptionist. “Your sister’s already here, but we might as well get you some towels and have your hair washed first.”

Cassiopeia glanced up briefly from the book on her lap in the styling chair, quirking up an eyebrow at Katarina’s appearance. She seemed to decide better of making a judgemental quip and returned back to her reading. She looked like she had been there for a while already, hair done up in layers of foil. Somehow she managed to make even that look glamorous.

Minutes later, after Taric had dealt with her rain soaked hair and gave her a few towels to dry herself off, she took the seat next to Cassiopeia’s.

“Now. What are we going to do? We can do some colour if you want.”

Katarina liked Taric well enough. She wasn’t as close to him on the account he was mainly Cassiopeia’s go-to stylist that Katarina only saw when absolutely necessary. She appreciated that he always went out of the way to ask her what she wanted, despite matters of dolling oneself up were far beyond her expertise. 

“Whatever Cass says’ll work. She picked the dress out anyway.”

Cassiopeia folded her book, meticulously placing a bookmark between the pages of what Katarina could now identify as one of Cass’ many law textbooks. Keener. She regarded Kat’s face in the mirror reflection, tilting her head in thought.

“No colour. A regular updo will be fine. Maybe some loose curling, but keep it simple.”

Taric nodded and walked away to prepare his tools.

“I have an extra umbrella if you need it.”

“Thanks.” Cass made to open her textbook again, but Katarina continued their conversation. “I didn’t know you knew my roommate.”

Cass continued to read, “Hm? Ashe? Well, you didn’t exactly tell me her name, did you.”

“And….?”

“And?”

“How do you know her?”

Cass sighed and looked up again, “I don’t really _know her_ , know her. She’s just in a few of my polisci courses. She _is_ pretty recognisable after all, but we’ve never really spoken.”

“Can you find out more?”

“Are you asking me to snoop for dirt that you can use against her?” Cassiopeia feigned shock, “Well I never!”

“As if it’s not your favourite pastime already.” 

“Damn right. I’ll tell you if I can find anything juicy.”

“Thanks. Any favours you need doing?”

“I might have you accompany me to an event in a few weeks, but I’ll let you know.”

“Ugh. Again, don’t you have a boyfriend for that?”

Cassiopeia’s gaze suddenly hardened. “No. No such thing.”

“Wow, four days total? Is this a record for you?”

“It was like two, and I’ve had shorter.”

“Was he that bad in bed? I can’t imagine most of the guys you see to be anything less than subpar. Actually, don’t answer that one. I don’t need to know.”

“Nope.” Cass let the ‘p’ pop with uninhibited annoyance that told Katarina that perhaps this was a lot more serious than her usual break ups. “I caught that bastard dealing coke at the party.”

“Oh shit.”

Cassiopeia Du Couteau’s parties were exclusive. Everybody that was lucky enough to be invited to one knew that drugs were strictly off the table. In fact, they weren’t allowed anywhere near the table, and certainly not under it. Those that didn’t take it seriously in the past certainly knew that they were no idle threats when they found themselves permanently uninvited to all future events. 

It wasn’t that being the daughters of a cop that made them particularly prudish about drugs. In fact, Katarina knew that many that worked for her dad probably did some wild stuff themselves. When in power it was easier to keep things like that underwraps. But they had their reasons and eventually no one questioned it or dared challenge it. 

Katarina wondered if she could say anything comforting. A Du Couteau didn’t really talk about their feelings very easily, and that also made for poor displays of sympathy. Cassiopeia must have been able to parse the attempted look of concern on her sister’s face.

“It’s fine. He was an arrogant little bitch anyway.” Cass opened her textbook again, indicating that the conversation was over.

* * *

Katarina heaved a sigh of relief when she pulled into her driveway, the lights were out and Trynd’s truck was nowhere to be seen. As it was, being all dressed up really did wonders on destroying her devil-may-care image. Not that she cared _that_ much about her image, but her discomfort definitely showed on her, and the last thing she wanted was for her current worst enemy to see it. Now she only had to get changed and head out before Ashe came home. In and out.

That was the plan, at least. Half an hour later, she found herself caught in what she could only describe as a silk death trap. The dress Cass had ordered for her was admittedly gorgeous to look at. A dark elegant black silk evening dress that was made to hug the hips and flare out starting around the thighs. The neckline plunged downward just enough to barely call itself modest, and beautiful dark red embroidery lined the hems in a way that only highlighted themselves in a certain light. By all means, it wasn’t the worst thing she could have worn. What she had seemed to unfortunately overlook, when she lazily sent Cass her old measurements a few weeks back, was that she had put on some more muscle across her back and shoulders in the last year. As well as it is very obvious what this would mean, hindsight is always 20/20, but does nothing to aid with the fact that the dress did not fit.

Katarina reached around back for what was the umpteenth time to try and yank the zipper up. Her makeup was probably ruined with sweat, and she was getting dangerously close to being late. If she could only get the zipper up long enough to get the dress hook done up, then she only had to suffer in it for one evening. She grasped the elusive tab once more, took a deep breath and yanked it up as quickly as she could. She didn’t dare breathe as the zipper finally groaned shut, immediately closing the dress hook in place as soon as she was able.

A steady release of breath.

…

And then a slow ripping sound accompanied the feeling of the top of the dress falling slightly loose.

“Shit.”

Katarina reached back again, muscles flexing. The ripping sound continued.

“Shit. Shit. SHIT!”

She twisted to look over her shoulder in the mirror, maybe it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. Of course, curse her bad luck, it was exactly as bad as it sounded. The seams on the back had split entirely, opening up on either side into deep v-shapes. With her hair done up the way it was, there was no hiding it.

Katarina swore some more, running to her closet to find anything else she could wear. Leather jacket, leather jacket, leather pants, ripped jeans, band tees, leather jacket… Why would she even think that she would have anything remotely appropriate in her own closet? She considered her options, she could go to the homestead and see if there was anything there, but that was in the exact opposite direction that she needed to go. Cassiopeia was probably already there fashionably early to mingle so she couldn’t really help her out. Or…

Ashe’s bedroom door stood in front of her, looking no different from the other thousands of times she had passed by it. It was hard not to, since it was just across the hall from her own. Katarina peeked inside, making sure that she was actually alone, before creeping into the room to raid the closet. Formal wear was surprisingly easy to find despite being an unfamiliar closet. Likely to do with the fact that every hanger was ordered by type of apparel and furthermore by colour. Ashe had a few dresses, but when Katarina held them up to herself, they were clearly not going to fit her. Ashe’s height meant that every dress was hemmed far too long to fit Katarina comfortably. Katarina kept flipping through the hangers, desperate to find something. The blazers were too business, the cardigans were far too casual looking, perhaps she would be able to find a shawl or scarf of some sort.

Katarina stopped when she finally saw it, a long black shawl that looked more akin to a knee length cape at the back, the fabric at the front cut to hang over her arms. She unclasped it and affixed the piece over her shoulders with the brooch on the front. She gave herself a quick once over in the vanity. It looked a little evil-Queen like with all the black, but if anything Katarina preferred that. This would have to do for now. After tonight, she’d just have to sneak it back into Ashe’s room when she was out of the house. She would also never have to wear this accursed dress again.

* * *

“No work today?”

Katarina had found her siblings rather easily. Cassiopeia was hard to miss in her shimmering emerald evening gown. Her hair was freshly curled, and the new strawberry blonde highlights definitely suited the look. To her side, Talon stood in a smartly tailored suit, his shoulder length dark brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail. 

“No. Father insisted that we actually spend some time together as a family, so I took the night off.”

“I don’t get how being in a stuffy museum with a bunch of stuck up rich people is supposed to be good for family bonding.”

Talon shrugged. He was never one to question their father, even if such events were not anywhere within his usual comfort zone. All this was entirely Cassiopeia’s territory. Who, speaking of, was regarding Katarina with crossed arms.

“Why the hell are you wearing that? I don’t remember that being part of the ensemble.”

“I fucked up when I sent you my measurements.” Katarina mumbled.

Cass narrowed her eyes. 

“How do you fuck that up?”

Katarina glared at Cass, pulling the shawl closer to herself. She glanced around, making sure that no one was really watching. 

“I sent you my old measurements. Apparently I worked out my back a lot this year.”

Talon stifled a snort, and Cass blinked in shock, an open mouthed smile of disbelief on her face. 

“Oh my god, no. How bad is it? Let me see.”

Katarina reluctantly pulled the shawl open a bit, turning so that her siblings could see the damaged back of the garment. The two of them immediately burst out in a fit of laughter.

“Holy shit, that’s so bad.” 

“Shut up.”

“Where did you get that shawl anyway? It doesn’t look like anything you own.”

“I borrowed it from my roommate.”

“I thought you hated her.” Talon pulled his phone out. “Didn’t you send me twenty texts telling me how horrible she was?”

“I still do. She doesn’t _know_ I borrowed it from her.”

Cassiopeia immediately snapped her head towards Katarina. “You’re kidding right? You didn’t actually do that, did you?”

“I did.” Katarina suddenly felt uneasy. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Shit.” Cass hissed, her eyes growing wide as she looked over Katarina’s shoulder.

“I was wondering where my shawl went today. This is certainly not where I expected to find it.”

Katarina whirled around at the new voice, the shock and surprise just beginning to sink in. There stood Ashe, looking statuesque in a dark blue dress layered in lighter blue tulle and shimmering crystals. Her white hair straightened and thrown over one shoulder, highlighting her long pale neck. The look on her face was as stoic as usual, but there was almost a light of amusement in her eyes as she looked down at Katarina. Kat felt her stomach flip. What the fuck was she doing here?

While Katarina was used to getting into trouble, they were usually ones that she could punch her way out of. Now she was at a loss for words. Ashe smirked, and reached a hand towards Cass.

“Cassiopeia, correct? I believe we share some classes together.”

Cassiopeia took her hand and firmly shook it, ever the perfect conversationalist. “Yes, 333C, and 367A. It’s nice to see a familiar face at one of these events.”

Ashe turned to Talon, politely introducing herself as Talon awkwardly reciprocated, before turning back to Katarina.

“That looks good on you. Just make sure it gets back to me after this. Now if you’ll all excuse me, I have some matters to attend to. Enjoy the gala.” Ashe turned and disappeared back into the crowd, heels clicking away on the polished marble floors.

Katarina looked back at Cass, slack jawed. “What… the hell… is she doing here?”

“I should have asked you for her last name earlier at the salon.”

“How the hell am I supposed to remember how to pronounce such a long last name? All I can remember is that it starts with F.”

“Ashe Frørdóttir? As in, her mother could only be Grena Frørdóttir?”

Katarina shook her head, the name was beyond her. 

“You mean the Minister of Environment?” Of course Talon knew. Of course Kat was the dumb Du Couteau. Still, the information meant nothing to her.

“This is an environmental fundraiser charity gala, Kat. Her mom organised this whole goddamn thing.”

Well, that certainly made sense now. Her dad wouldn’t just get a random nobody to share a house with her. He would definitely have been looking within his social circle to find someone appropriate. While Katarina had wondered who Ashe might have been before, she didn’t expect it to be someone that she would see tonight. The embarrassing clothing debacle was like the cherry on top of a shit sundae.

“I need some air.”

Katarina eventually found a deserted balcony, gulping in the brisk fall air. She had quit smoking a couple years ago, but tonight she felt the itch for a cigarette. Instead, she had grabbed a handful of appetizers to enjoy the solitude with.

“Miss Du Couteau! A rarity to see you tonight.”

Katarina paused mid-bite into an hors d'oeuvre, turning to see one of her dad’s colleagues standing at the balcony doors.. She swallowed, of course he would catch her in an inconvenient moment. She snatched her champagne flute from where she left it on the railing, gulping down half of the bubbly liquid to wash down her food.

“Nice to see you, Mr. Swain.”

“Please, I always say to call me Jericho. No need for formalities, I’ve known you since you couldn’t even walk. Might I say you’ve grown up quite well. You look rather radiant tonight.”

Jericho Swain was probably one of her least favourite of her father’s colleagues. While it was true, he had known their family for a very long time, Katarina detested how he pretended to be close to her every time she saw him. It was almost as if everything that came out of his mouth was perfectly planned to have another meaning or intention, and most of them carried negative connotations.

“Thanks.” Katarina frantically looked around for an out. The tall man stood between her and the rest of the party. There was no way to exit without being rude.

“How have you been? Has school been treating you well?”

“It’s been great.”

“What was it that you’re studying again? I can’t quite remember.” He tapped his chin with a long finger, feigning contemplation.

“I’m… trying some different things out right now.”

“Undeclared major in your third year? Well isn’t that surprising? And here I was sure that Marcus would have higher expectations for his eldest.” 

Katarina gritted her teeth. She hated everything about him, his slimy voice, his backhanded comments, and his stupid ugly long greasy hair. 

“I’m just trying to figure out what works for me.”

Jericho laughed, short and sharp like a raven’s caw. “Yes, that’s how it is with you young folk nowadays, isn’t it? Lucky enough to just try things, and spend all the time in the world figuring yourselves out.”

The only thing that stopped her from submitting to her rage entirely and clocking the older man in the face was the gentle knock that pulled both their attentions to the door. As much as Katarina hated Ashe’s guts, in this moment, there was no one she could hate more than Jericho Swain. The sight of her housemate standing at the threshold of the balcony was almost like a lighthouse beacon.

“Sorry for interrupting. I was wondering if I could borrow Katarina for a bit. Her father is looking for her.”

Jericho smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “But of course! It was lovely seeing you again, Katarina.”

Katarina nodded, the only acknowledgement she could give to him without losing her temper. She followed Ashe back into the museum halls. When they were far enough from Swain, Ashe stopped mid stride, turning around to look Katarina in the eyes.

“He certainly sounded like a bundle of joy to converse with.”

“He’s a dick wad.” 

“I concur.”

Katarina furrowed her brow. How long was Ashe standing there to hear the conversation? Did she hear everything she said about school? How much did she hear and how much of it could she use against her? Suddenly the relief from being able to leave her conversation with Swain evaporated, leaving anxiety in its wake. She wanted out of this conversation now too.

“Didn’t you say my dad was looking for me?”

Ashe motioned towards a crowd of people, Katarina could see her father standing amongst them, though his back was facing her. He looked to be deep in conversation with an older woman about his height, long gray hair pulled into many thick braids. There was a stern seriousness in the woman’s expression and stance, emphasized by her dark blue suit, that looked vaguely familiar. Katarina glanced off to her side, seeing the same features on her companion’s face.

“Is that your mom?”

Ashe nodded without looking back at her, an unreadable expression etched on her face. However, there seemed to be an air of hesitation about her. Katarina wondered if perhaps there was more that was left unsaid, or that she didn’t want to interrupt their conversation. Whatever the reason, that was soon out of mind when the woman, Grena, noticed the pair and started to wave them over. Marcus turned around as well, a smile warming his face as he stepped forward to welcome them.

As he moved, he revealed a third person that stopped Katarina dead in her tracks. It had been a few years, but there was no mistaking the girl by Marcus’ side for anyone else. Her white hair was clipped short at the sides, that was new, but the rest of it was pulled back in a neat tidy bun. That, coupled with the trim tuxedo made Riven look like the poster child for a recruitment ad. She probably was one. Katarina felt the room spin, as her heart leapt up to her throat. A reel of emotions and memories played through her mind, every single one making her stomach twist painfully.

“Katarina?” 

She blinked and looked to her side, she hadn’t even felt Ashe put a hand on her shoulder. That brought her back to reality. She realised now that she had stopped walking entirely. Looking back at her dad, she could see the concern on his face. 

“I need to go.” Katarina choked out, not trusting herself to say anything more than that.

She shrugged Ashe’s hand off her shoulder, and turned away to run as much as the dress would allow her. She could hear Marcus shout after her, but she ignored it. Tears stung in her eyes, but she blinked them away, forcing them back down. After what felt like forever, she eventually found the entrance.

“Just give me my keys, I’ll find my own car.” The bill she stuffed in the valet’s hand silenced any protest he was prepared to give her.

“Katarina, wait!” 

Her dad was pushing his way out the front door, but Katarina could barely hear him with her heart pounding in her ears. She turned around once to look at him. He stopped chasing when he saw her face, standing at the steps of the museum as people walked past around them. He didn’t try to stop her anymore when she turned to run off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter this time. Sorry I bullied Kat so much, but she's such a fun character to write about with so many EMOTIONS that she's bad at sharing. :) It'll get better for her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow a quicker update? Who knew?

Katarina felt sick.

She wasn’t really, and she knew it, but knowledge of the fact didn’t help make her feel any better. In her current state of mind, nothing felt stimulating. The TV droned on in the background, some talk segment about neighbourhood traffic flow changes throughout the years. She wasn’t actually paying attention, she just needed something running to take her mind off of things. The couch was her domain and she intended to rule over it lethargically.

Ashe, thankfully, seemed to take a hint, recently having made herself scarce. They hadn’t spoken since the incident two nights ago, she either spent the last couple days out or confined to her room. Katarina had heard her housemate pass through the living room a few times, but seemed to leave her to her own devices. Perhaps she was imagining it, but Katarina could have sworn that either Ashe was finally satisfied with the amount of housework she had done, or that the number of chore related post-it notes had taken a sharp decline over the past two days. Though, Katarina wasn’t sure if Ashe was merely pitying her. That was almost worse. Ashe had been present during a moment of Katarina’s weakness, and the mere thought of that made her skin crawl. Pity was only good for people who couldn’t do anything to help but still wanted to feel better about themselves. She almost wanted to confront Ashe about it, but it wasn’t worth the trouble in the end. If anything, her cramps ensured she was glued to the couch.

Fucking periods.

As if in retribution for her bitter thoughts, another lash of pain lanced through her abdomen. Katarina swore, cursing herself for not buying more painkillers after last month. 

Her phone buzzed on the table, startling her out of her stupor.

“Hey.” 

“ _Guess who’s back~?_ ” Sarah’s sing song voice rang out from the speakers. 

“You’ve only been gone three days.”

“ _And I’m sure you missed me so much during all of it._ ” Katarina rolled her eyes, knowing that while Sarah couldn’t see it, she probably knew she was doing it anyway. “ _How about lunch? There’s a new katsu place that opened up a few blocks from you. Wanna go?_ ”

“Nah. I just want to lie here and wallow in the life Mother Nature is subjecting me to.”

“ _Oh boy. Sounds bad. How about I pick something up from there and bring lunch to you?_ ”

Katarina considered this a moment, weighing the benefits of wanting to be left alone, and free lunch. Food won out. Besides, Sarah was far from her least favourite person to spend time with.

“Sure. Why not? I’ll eat anything, just make sure it comes with hot soup.”

“ _Happy meal with a side of fries, gotcha._ ”

The line went dead before Katarina could come up with a snappy retort. She held back the urge to chuckle. Kat would never admit it to Sarah’s face, but she appreciated the gesture. Even if she probably wanted to probe her with questions, or, God forbid, talk about feelings. 

Her train of thought was cut short by the sound of footsteps coming down the main stairs. Probably Ashe going out for a run, this was just about the time of day she usually did. Kat offered no acknowledgement. After their conversation at the gala, she wanted less to do with her housemate. They were acquainted due to circumstance, friendliness was never a requirement. 

Katarina tilted her head as the faint, but familiar beeping of her thermostat sounded across the living room. She pulled herself up to sitting instantly, ignoring the shooting pain in her gut. Looking over the back of the couch, she saw Ashe across the room, clad in her usual running gear of shorts and tee, adjusting the thermostat. Ashe looked over at the movement, a pale eyebrow raised in question.

“So it _was_ you.” Katarina snarled, feeling her anger and frustration at the past week taking over. “You’re the one who keeps turning the whole house into a fucking fridge.”

Ashe’s face remained impassive as Katarina stood, marching right up to her. “I beg to differ, this is many degrees warmer than your average fridge.”

Katarina felt her eyebrow twitch. Was that a joke? Was she mocking her? Kat couldn’t read anything from the other woman’s face. She forced herself to look anywhere else to contain herself, instead turning her attention to the electronic display. 

“17 degrees?! It’s almost December and you’re trying to kill us from the cold.” Katarina shoved the taller girl’s hands out of the way, dialing the temperature back up. She had been going crazy for the last few days, wondering if the thermostat was broken and questioning if she really had turned the heat up.

“That’s a perfectly reasonable temperature. I don’t remember any complaints about it a few months ago.” Ashe replied evenly, crossing her arms.

“That was in fucking September.”

“I don’t see how that makes any difference. It’s the same temperature then as it is now.”

Katarina took a sharp breath through her nose, feeling heat rise to her face as Ashe stared back at her. The nerve of this woman!

“This is my house. The temperature stays as is.”

Ashe’s eyes narrowed slightly, the first sign of any loss of emotional control. “As someone who pays your _father_ utilities, I believe that I should have a say in how much we are spending on heating.”

“I’ll tell him to cover more, if you’ve got your panties in a twist about it. Though I’m sure your _mother_ has more than enough to deal with it.” Katarina knew she sounded like a child, but she couldn’t help it. Every single word got under her skin. Ashe wasn’t wrong that Katarina was largely dependent on her father, but how incredibly rude of her to have pointed it out. Who does that?

Ashe’s nostrils flared as she let a breath out, and then Katarina knew she had struck a chord with her. She waited for some sort of blow up, hoping that Ashe would lose herself to a temper that Katarina could then exploit. While civilities were not her forte, anger she knew well. To her disappointment, Ashe closed her eyes and took a step back, hands thrown up in concession.

“Fine. Do as you wish. I refuse to argue with children.” 

Katarina fumed, but didn't rise to the challenge, instead choosing to watch Ashe whirl around and walk down the stairs to the front door, out of sight.

The look Sarah affixed her with half an hour later told Katarina that as much as she tried to get over her anger at the argument, she probably wasn’t as over it as she was trying to be.

“Cramps that bad, eh?”

Katarina made a noncommittal noise, moving out of the way to let Sarah in. She had her hair braided today, draped over the shoulder of her long coat. Only Sarah Fortune made striped pants and vintage military coats work for her. It wasn’t until she walked past that the smells wafting from the bag she carried reminded Katarina that she was starving. Perhaps food would help take her mind off of things.

Katarina attempted to help set the table, but Sarah insisted on her sitting back down on the couch. She watched as Sarah busied herself, whistling a jaunty tune as she went.

“Someone’s in a really good mood.” Sarah paused almost imperceptibly, mid way through taking her seat on the couch next to Katarina. “Did something happen?”

Sarah didn’t answer at first, only staring back at Katarina, grey eyes studying her face. Katarina pushed down the urge to squirm under the scrutiny, matching the look back at her. Sarah was the first back down, turning her attention to unwrapping a pair of chopsticks.

“You first. Something’s up and it’s more than just your period.”

Katarina accepted the chopsticks Sarah held out to her, using them to pick halfheartedly at her food, her appetite suddenly waning. “Did Cass put you up to this?”

“No. Funny enough, when you’re friends with someone long enough, you can just tell these things.”

When Katarina didn’t respond, Sarah sighed and leaned over her to grab the remote, using it to switch through the channels. They sat exchanging no words as Sarah surfed the channels, clearly not willing to budge on the matter. Eventually she settled on an unobtrusive documentary channel, focussing her attention to her food. Katarina in turn dug into her lunch defiantly, quietly munching away at the fried pork tenderloin. She didn’t give Sarah the satisfaction of showing it, but the food was really fucking good and satisfied all her hormonal cravings. Before she knew it, she had inhaled the entire contents of the styrofoam box, washing it all down with hot soup. Sated, she leaned back on her couch, keenly aware of Sarah watching her with an unmasked expression of concern. 

Katarina mentally struggled with making Sarah privy to her thoughts, and what was bothering her so much. She didn’t like the idea of talking about her emotions and having people try to find solutions for her. They were her own to deal with. But Sarah never judged her, and she did bring her food. She could at least just tell her what was going on.

“Riven was at that gala my dad made me go to.” 

Sarah’s head whipped towards Katarina so quickly that she swore she heard a crack. Her eyes were wide in surprise. 

“Do you… want to talk about it?”

“No.” Not quite as far as talking about her problems, but still… baby steps.

Sarah regarded Katarina with an expression of mixed concern and frustration, clearly struggling with trying to respect Katarina’s privacy and wanting to say something to help. She knew Riven was a sore subject to broach. Even when things had gone to shit two years ago, Katarina never truly discussed with Sarah what had happened. Again, talking about emotions was not her strong suit, and she most definitely was not going to open the can of worms that was her break up of her four year long relationship.

Sarah let out a huff, clearly deciding on giving up on the topic, and Katarina let out of a breath of her own in turn. 

“What’s your good news?” Katarina was eager to change the subject onto something that didn’t involve herself being the focus.

Sarah turned away, focussing her attention on the TV. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“What? I said my piece, you can’t just back out now.”

“I didn’t make any promises. Besides, you can’t seriously think that really counted as sharing anything.”

Katarina scrunched brow, watching Sarah tuck her legs up underneath her on the couch, all the while avoiding eye contact. There wasn’t anything obvious she could glean from body language alone, but she knew Sarah well enough that she was holding back for a reason. The resistance came after Katarina had mentioned Riven. This meant that it must be something related, or at least, along the same lines.

“Don’t tell me… you met someone?”

Sarah’s facial expression betrayed nothing, but her silence bared all. 

“Holy fuck, just talk to me about it. Don’t be fucking weird. Chick or dick?”

Sarah let a smile break across her face as she turned back to face Katarina once again. “Chick.”

“Name?” Katarina squinted, “How’d you meet? Tell me more? God, I shouldn’t even need to ask you.” 

“Her name’s Nami. She works at the recreational supply store. We’ve been talking for a few months now, and I invited her to the trip.”

“A few months? And you didn’t tell me anything?!”

“I didn’t think it would go that way!” Katarina blinked in surprise to see a light pink spread across Sarah’s freckled cheeks. “We’re just friends right now. I didn’t think I’d develop a bloody crush!”

Katarina grinned so hard she felt like her face would break. “This is the best day of my life. I can’t believe you’ve fallen hook, line, and sinker. Is she straight?”

“I don’t know! I haven’t asked.” Sarah flicked Katarina on the forehead for her widening grin. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”

“You are the last person I would ever think that wouldn’t just march up to someone and sus them out in the first five minutes of meeting them.”

“I don’t know… it’s different. She’s a sweet girl. I didn’t even realise I was crushing until yesterday.” Sarah’s expression suddenly hardened. “I swear to God, if you tell a single soul and ruin my reputation I will keelhaul you under my boat.”

“Wouldn’t think of it.” Katarina flashed another shit-eating grin for good measure. “Fortune’s got a cruuush, Fortune’s lost her touuuch.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

The pair were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and closing. They both looked over their shoulders towards the stairs. 

“Is that your roommate?” Sarah asked, lowering her voice to a whisper. 

“Who else would it be?” Katarina didn’t miss the way Sarah’s eyes seemed to light up in anticipation. She waited with baited breath until Ashe rounded the corner from the stairwell, wiping her forehead with a towel, plastic shopping bag in her other hand. Katarina turned her attention from the bead of sweat rolling down Ashe’s jaw, instead training her attention to Ashe’s surprised eyes. 

“You must be Ashe.” Sarah stood, walking around the couch with a hand outstretched, “Sarah. Sarah Fortune.”

Katarina remained sitting, nonchalantly scrolling through her phone, only mildly interested in the exchange. She didn’t allow for any visible reaction as Ashe wiped her hand on her towel and approached to reciprocate Sarah’s greeting. 

“Pleasure to meet you. I’m sorry, I didn’t know there would be guests over, I would have been better prepared to be hospitable.” Katarina bristled at that statement, it was like Ashe was rubbing in the fact that the place was every bit her home as well.

“Don’t be silly.” Sarah laughed, “No need to be such a charmer. Kat and I are just hanging. Want some miso soup?”

“I’m alright, but thank you for the offer. I’ll just leave you two to it.” Katarina was suddenly struck by the realisation that for the first time, Ashe was smiling. A stark contrast to the surly frown and occasional smirk that she had seen for the past week. The pleasantry made her hate Ashe even more. Was she only pretending to be nice, or was she only rude to Kat? She glared at Ashe’s back as she climbed the stairs towards the bedrooms.

“ _That’s_ your roommate?!” Sarah hissed when she was pretty sure Ashe was out of earshot.

“Yeah, a lovely bundle of joy. Seems like she’s as two-faced as she is rude.”

“Okay, yeah, whatever problems you have with her are between you guys, but did you see those legs? She’s like a cross between a supermodel and an ice princess.” Sarah smiled bigger at Kat’s growing scowl. “And that ass isn’t bad either. Or should I say _dat Ashe_.”

Katarina threw a couch cushion at Sarah’s face.

“Keep it in your pants, Fortune. Save some for Nami.” Katarina caught the pillow that came sailing back at her.

“Yeah yeah. She really doesn’t seem so bad, though… if not a little weird. Who goes out dressed like _that_ in this weather? It’s five degrees outside.”

“Not my problem if she wants to freeze to death.” Katarina shrugged, not about to bring up the argument she had with Ashe earlier. “Stop changing the subject. I’m not done embarrassing you.”

* * *

Katarina’s body wasn’t any more kinder to her the next day. Her cramps very obnoxiously declared themselves present the moment she rolled out of bed. She vowed to buy herself a new bottle of painkillers if she could manage to drag herself out of the house today. But first, coffee.

The kitchen was still dark at this time, November settled its early morning blanket over the sky. Katarina flicked the light switch, blearily groping around for her coffee machine as her eyes adjusted, muscle memory doing most of the work for her. Her hand unexpectedly knocked something over with a clatter of noise. She rubbed her eyes to get a better look at what she was doing. She had knocked over a container, one that wasn’t normally supposed to be on the counter—a bottle of ibuprofen.

She squinted to see if she wasn’t imagining things; She was absolutely positive that she was completely out. That only left the only possible situation being that Ashe must have been the one to purchase more. Suddenly Katarina felt uneasy. Was this an apology for the argument? Was it blackmail? A threat? Was it poisoned? (Though the seal indicated it was brand new and tamper free.) Her brain ran a mile a minute, going through all possible reasons as to why Ashe would do this. It was clearly placed where Katarina would find it, she was the only one of the two that used the coffee machine. No matter the intention of the gesture, she decided she would worry about it after she had some caffeine and the sweet reprieve from pain that only over the counter drugs could supply her.

A notification popped up on her phone, a text.

[Old man 7:38a]: _Katarina. Please see me today. 4pm._

Of course. She was wondering when her father would get around to confronting her about what had happened. It was also impossible to tell what he thought about the situation from text alone. He only ever wrote what was essential information to be sent. No more no less.

Katarina sighed, resigning herself to another lousy day. She had planned to dedicate her day to catching up on her assigned readings she had neglected for the first half of the semester. That should kill most of the time until she would have to head out later.

Holing up her bedroom did provide one unforeseen benefit, as unlike the time she spent gaming in her living room, she wouldn’t have to see nor deal with Ashe for the day. Especially the awkwardness involved in may be needing to thank Ashe. The very thought of that was appalling. Instead, she popped in her headphones, music on blast, and focussed on not being an insufferable family failure.

Jericho’s words echoed in her mind at the thought, they burned her more than anything else that had occured in the last week. Well… almost. Riven aside. The worst part about the entire exchange was that he hadn’t been entirely wrong in his assessment. Her father had driven himself to his wit’s end trying to get her to find passion in something. Anything. He had tried to get Katarina to enroll in the police academy on multiple occasions, however she fought back, not entirely sure she wanted to follow along in his footsteps and his shadow. In the end, Marcus was only just barely appeased by her taking classes that lead her towards criminal law. He could work with that. 

She shoved the thoughts to a corner of her mind, refusing to let them distract her. That was a problem for later, for the inevitable lecture from Du Couteau senior.

Later arrived sooner than expected, and Katarina eventually found herself in front of the Du Couteau homestead’s gates, waiting to be buzzed in. She pulled her shades off, looking directly at where she knew the camera would be.

“It’s me, let me in.”

No response, but the wrought iron gates blocking her car creaked to life, swinging wide open to reveal the twisted pathway up to the mansion—The pretentious sort that wormed its way through many winding stretches of trees. Though familiar to her, it didn’t bring much comfort. Home felt a lot less like home many years ago. Eventually the trees thinned out to reveal a cresting hill, atop which the Du Couteau manor perched. While others, her family and visitors alike, would call the building majestic, Katarina always likened it to a squat frog—Restored dark wood made up the several hundred year old building, too many windows and unnecessary towers, and altogether missing warmth. Katarina pulled and parked up front. With luck, it would be a short visit and her father would say his piece and then she would be relinquished.

A figure greeted her at the door before she could reach it to pull it open.

“Hey Brandy! Miss me?”

“Miss Katarina.” The surly look Brannin gave her was softened by the glint in his dark eyes. “I count every single day of peace and quiet that I have here without three hooligans running around the place.”

Brannin Grandt had been butler for the Du Couteau manor for as long as Katarina could remember. He was involved directly in the upbringing of the aforementioned three hooligans and played an instrumental role in keeping them out of trouble. Or at least, he tried to. Though he would never admit it, Katarina knew he held a soft spot for her.

He moved to let her through into the foyer. Unlike the exterior, it had been completely renovated into something much more modern chic. However Marcus was never one for bright cheery colours, so to his tastes, the dark marbled flooring, and similarly hued walls cast a somber tone in the entire interior.

Katarina climbed the grand split staircase immediately without waiting for Brannin to direct her. She knew exactly where she would find her father. The door to his study was wide open, allowing her to see him at his desk, immersed in paperwork. She approached, rapping her knuckles on the door frame. Marcus looked up abruptly.

“Katarina.” He gestured to the seat across from him with one hand while putting away his paperwork. “Come in.”

Seated in front of his desk surrounded by towering bookshelves made Katarina feel like a teenager called to the principal’s office, but she complied anyway, hoping it would end the meeting sooner.

Marcus steepled his fingers, peering over them to regard Katarina a moment. “I’ll be heading back out east on Monday. Is there anything you need?”

Marcus’ job had him travelling back and forth across the country often, he spent more time away than he did around home. That wasn’t to say that he was a distant parent. He tried to remain involved with his children whenever possible, perhaps maybe too much. It was a strange arrangement, being raised by Brannin, and her overprotective father from afar.

“Nope.” The ensuing awkward silence that flooded the room was palpable. Katarina stood. “Okay good talk pops, see ya later, have a good trip.”

“Katarina.” She sat back down, reluctance hanging off her like a cloak. Marcus looked back at her, silence filling the space between them again. He opened his mouth and seemed to decide against it, as if unsure how to find the right words. Katarina fidgeted in her seat.

“About the other night…”

“Don’t.” Katarina cut him off, not wanting to hear it.

“You can’t just—”

“I said don’t.” She kept her voice as even as possible.

“I’m sorry.”  
  
That certainly got her attention. She regarded him warily. “Why?”

Marcus heaved a deep sigh, running a hand through his hair, the recent years had turned it to a silvering orange. Now that she was paying attention, Katarina noticed for the first time that he was beginning to look a little older in his years. Years of work reflected in the dark circles underneath his eyes, and did he always have so many wrinkles across his forehead?

“It was my idea. Your sister warned me against it, but I assumed I knew what would be best for you.” He looked apologetic, a little guilty even. “I felt it was an appropriate time to perhaps help you make amends.”

Katarina was momentarily at a loss for words. It certainly made sense. Who else could have invited Riven to an event of the sort? And Cassiopeia knew? The shock ebbed away to make way for anger, so very hot in her chest it practically felt like it was squeezing her heart.

“You… I don’t…” Words eluded her as she tried to put them in coherent order. “How dare you.”

“Katarina, I—”

“No!” Katarina stood, if it startled Marcus he hid it well. “You don’t get to poke your nose into every single fucking aspect of my life. I can’t believe you would do something as stupid as trying to surprise me with my fucking ex!”

“It’s been so many years, I only felt it was a good time to put down arms over what happened in the past. She’s done excellently. Top of her class.” Marcus’ tone remained that of stern reasoning. 

Katarina flared her nostrils in anger. A thousand thoughts ran through her head that she couldn’t bring a voice to. Did he for any second consider what she wanted? He was too busy focussing on what he thought was best for her. He felt like he was doing her a favour to set them back up together… as if he wasn’t part of the reason they broke up in the first place. 

Deep down, she knew his intentions didn’t come from a place of malice, and instead a place of concern. However, he always thought he saw what was best for her, he no longer could really see her. Rage trumped reason. No. She would take none of this bullshit. Not today.

“I’m leaving.” Katarina turned around and made for the door.

“Katarina.” 

She cut off his protest by slamming his study door closed. That would be something that would eventually have consequences, but she would deal with it whenever it arised. For now, she would take solace in the fact that he would be too embarrassed at having tried to meddle with her love life to chastise her.

* * *

The sun was beginning to hang lower in the sky by the time Katarina started on her way home. She had spent the last hour taking her frustration out at the gym, now too tired to stay angry. Tonight she had a night of gaming to look forward to, and nothing would stop her from enjoying herself. 

That is, until she pulled up to her garage, and spotted the odd sight that was Ashe sitting on the curb, head lowered over a book. She looked up at the sound of Kat approaching, and stood, directly in front of the garage doors.

Or maybe her plans would be foiled tonight.

Katarina rolled down her window as she got closer, knowing that her annoyance was written plainly across her face.

“Now you’re stopping me from entering my own home?”

Ashe glared back down at her and bit the inside of her cheek. Katarina wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but she took a certain amount of satisfaction riling Ashe up. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that she tried to compose herself with a constant air of seriousness that it was fun to push buttons and get frustration boiling under the surface. 

“The carbon monoxide alarm went off.” The surprise must have been reflected on Katarina’s expression, as Ashe immediately continued in explanation. “I’ve already called the fire department. We’ve been instructed to stay outside within the vicinity for the time being.”

Katarina groaned and pulled forward, and parked her car. She shot a message in her group chat, a blatant attempt to fish for sympathy, while knowing she’d only get roasted in return.

[ **Red** Today at 5:36]: LMAO  
[ **Red** Today at 5:36]: GET REKT  
[ **MoonMoon** Today at 5:38]: its rly not your week huh  
[ **SunSun** Today at 5:41]: Do you need us to come over?

Leave it to Leona to be the only one to be nice about anything. Katarina stole a glance back over to Ashe. As it was clear their conversation was over, Ashe had seated herself back down on the curb. It occurred to Kat that this was perhaps the first time she had gotten some time to really observe Ashe. Most their meetings thus far had been charged with anger and tension, which by all means was good that they were also brief and in passing. Now, separated by the comfort of her car interior, Katarina could watch as Ashe shifted multiple times, trying to make herself comfortable, her legs far too long to tuck comfortably beneath her from her low perch. Additionally made worse by the tight skirt that hugged her knees.

It was a little bit curious, as with her matching floral blouse, stockings, and just the right amount of pretentious accessories, Katarina had thought Ashe would be far too prissy to even think about sitting on a dirty surface like a sidewalk curb. It wasn’t until Ashe shifted again to adjust her hair that Katarina realised she was staring. Not that it mattered, from this angle Ashe’s back was turned to her.

Katarina wouldn’t have been able to tell what could have caused her curiosity to have affected her, but in that moment she felt perhaps there was more to Ashe than just being an uptight stickler. Perhaps it was the almost-truce provided by the painkillers, and the mutual misfortune of being trapped outside their own home. She opened her door and climbed out, immediately noting the air outside was far colder than she had originally thought. Ashe only glanced up from her novel when Katarina squatted at her side. She said nothing, but raised a pale eyebrow in lieu of a question, a wary expression on her face.

“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” The playful tone one Katarina usually saved for flirting with girls at bars. Ashe looked confused, so she drew a finger down over her eye, tracing her scar. “White hair’s a story I’m willing to trade for.”

“Oh.” Ashe’s hand flew up to her hair, a finger immediately twisting at the end of an alabaster lock. Katarina momentarily wondered at the surprise Ashe so plainly showed, the first time of having ever lowered her guard around her. Perhaps a detail to take note of for later should it be useful. “I lost a bet.”

Katarina seated herself on the cold concrete, faux yawning. “That’s it? Boring. I thought it would be more interesting. What was the bet about?”

To her surprise, Ashe’s cheeks pinkened. Just a touch. “I bet that I could drink more than Tryndamere.”

Katarina was taken back for a second, before laughter took over, and she practically fell over clutching her gut. “I was going to ask if you could, but I think the answer is obvious. What the fuck, who makes a bet like that? Did you seriously think you could win?” 

Katarina had enough first hand experience to know the answer before it was even said. “No.” Ashe rubbed the bridge of her nose with one hand, as if trying to hide her embarrassment with it. Katarina revelled in having the upper hand for once. “I have a penchant for getting… a tiny bit competitive when challenged. So I lost an impossible bet, and the colour was chosen for me.”

Ashe’s hair was long enough that Katarina was able to just grab a stray lock that blew her way in the November wind. She rolled the strands between her fingers, unaware of Ashe stiffening next to her. She tried to see if she could glean the original colour from the bleached hair, but the dye job was immaculate. It must have been expensive. “Blonde?” She tried, going out on a limb.

“Yes.” Ashe closed her book and gathered her hair, pulling it all back over one shoulder. Katarina relinquished the lock in her hand with the movement. Blue eyes roamed her face, settling on what Katarina knew was her left eye. “And you?”

“I didn’t lose a stupid bet, I got this fighting a skeleton hoard trying to take over my home city.”

Ashe looked unimpressed by the non answer. “If I knew this wasn’t going to be a fair trade I would have better discussed the terms from the beginning. That sounds like far too exciting of an adventure for a university student.”

“I’m a level 11 drow rogue.” Katarina deadpanned, continuing the joke. She felt stupid when Ashe continued to look like she didn’t understand the reference. “You know… like Dungeons and Dragons?”

“I’m surprised. You don’t strike me as the type. I don’t really know much about it. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Katarina felt a little embarrassed at that, but she didn’t show it. It’s not that she felt her hobbies were anything to be ashamed of, but people easily judged. Come to think of it, she had no idea why she even bothered to bring it up with Ashe anyway. Conversation flowed far more easily than she expected now that they weren’t fighting over something. Something about it had lowered her guard, and she wasn't sure if she liked that at all. Though she would have found out eventually since sessions were usually held at Katarina’s place. “I tackled a guy assaulting some girl downtown. He had a knife.”

Katarina still remembered that day, it was six years ago. After she had recovered, and the worrying was over, her dad had told her that she was reckless, and idiotic, and that she should have left matters to the police. Katarina didn’t care, she carried the scar more as a reminder that people always fell between the cracks no matter how hard people like her dad and his police force tried. Sometimes recklessness wins.

Ashe looked at her with another expression that Katarina couldn’t quite read. It wasn’t like her previous ones of obvious annoyance. Kat wondered if she was being judged. After what looked like some deliberation, Ashe finally said, “That looks like it was painful.”

“It was.”

The silence that ensued was awkward, reminding them that they were not friends, acquainted only by necessity. Katarina by all means would deny that at that time, she perhaps entertained the idea that it wouldn’t be the worst to at least get along with her roommate.

“Shouldn’t you get back into your car? Isn’t it too cold out here for you?”

The tone was not malicious, but teasing. Katarina felt a little heat rise to her face. She glared challengingly back at Ashe. 

“I’m fine.” She retorted as she pulled her jacket closer to her against the frigid wind.

It really was fucking cold.

* * *

Katarina felt sick.

She actually was sick this time. The worst time to have gotten sick, since classes resumed tomorrow, and here she was spending her last day bedridden with a cold.

Whatever comradery she felt with Ashe the day before had evaporated by now. Especially when emergency services arrived and provided a thorough investigation of the property, discovering that the internal heating system had been malfunctioning, inefficiently burning and releasing an excess of carbon monoxide. This resulted in the actual temperature of the house not being as warm as it should have… That and they could have died, but that was now a non-issue.

Katarina sneezed.

Basically all of it could be boiled down to it being Ashe’s fault.

Tired of feeling sorry for herself, she wrapped a blanket around herself, trailing it along behind herself as she made her way downstairs to find some lunch. She was alone at home today, which was the only thing that made her feel a little better.

Curiously, as soon as she made it into the kitchen, she noticed something was out of place. Another small bottle was left by her coffee maker. Cold medicine and a note with Ashe’s neat script that Katarina had come to hate so much.

“ _Sorry_.”

Perhaps it wasn’t all bad.

* * *

“Remind me again why you don’t have anyone better to be here with you?”

“You made a promise already, and we’re here so I don’t know why you’re complaining.” Cassiopeia responded without looking over, instead she continued to peer through the small binoculars at the field in front of them.

“I think the deal should have been called off when you didn’t tell me that dad was going to try to set me up to see Riven.”

Cassiopeia set down the binoculars, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Look. I’m sorry. It slipped my mind. Honestly. There’s been… a lot of my mind lately, but I should have told you right away.”

Katarina was certainly collecting her fair share of apologies these last few days. It also wasn’t like Cass to be forgetful, especially about something like that. Instead of giving her sister an answer, she held her hand out expectantly. Cassiopeia, taking the cue, handed over the binoculars. She held them up to her face, scanning the field below at the archers lining up to shoot. 

“Which one is he?”

“Valmar. The brunette one sitting down over there, with the high fade. The one in first place.”

Katarina swept the binoculars around until she pinpointed the man in question. She supposed he looked alright, but she wouldn’t consider herself an expert on it. It had been a few weeks since reading break, and Cassiopeia had decided to collect on her promise of dragging Katarina out to an event. That being an archery tournament that one of her friends had invited her to. Which, of course, in true Cassiopeia fashion, she was using to scout out a potential fling. Though she considered the sport interesting for someone to pursue, Katarina found it unbearable to watch. Far too stationary for her tastes. Clearly many people shared the sentiments, as the bleachers they were seated on were very sparsely populated.

She watched him step up for one of his turns to shoot, each shot scoring him what looked like high points—she couldn’t really tell how scoring worked but she assumed it was as she expected, the closer to the center, the better.

“What do you think?”

“Hm?” Katarina swiveled to look at Cass, biting her tongue to stop from laughing at how close she looked through the binoculars before lowering them. “Since when do you care about what I think?”

“You’re right. I don’t know why I even bother asking.” 

“Exactly. So I have no idea why you want me here.”

“I just didn’t want to go alone. It’s too forward. You wouldn’t understand.” Cass held her hand up for the binoculars again. Katarina stuck her tongue out and looked through them again, chuckling as Cass crossed her arms and huffed.

She swept the field again, glossing over the men’s competition, and looked farther off to the women’s tournament, something far more up her alley for interests. They were farther away, but the binoculars helped.

The dark haired woman lining up to shoot looked vaguely familiar, probably Cass’ friend. Katarina watched as tan arm muscles flexed with the draw of the bow. Archery wasn’t as boring as she may have thought.

The shooting archer finished her round, and the next one stepped up to fire. Katarina nearly dropped the binoculars.

“Fuck. What is Ashe doing here?”

“What? Where?” Cass grabbed at Katarina’s arm, trying to get a look through the binoculars herself. Katarina held fast, still looking through them, but pointed out the figure in the distance to her sister. “So she is.”

This was certainly not the place Katarina expected to find Ashe, with all her prim and properness, she sooner expected to find her at some tea-tasting event. But here she was, stepping up to draw a shot at the target. Katarina watched Ashe fire one shot after the next into the target in quick succession. She didn’t know much about form, but something in the stance told her that she was good. The beer pong throw suddenly made sense, seeming a lot less like a fluke.

Ashe turned and looked over to the bleachers, making Katarina freeze. She hadn’t noticed her, had she? Katarina panned the binoculars away, looking around the rest of the field, back towards Valmar.

“Oh shit.”

“What?” Cassiopeia leaned in closer, trying to see what Katarina was looking at. Katarina handed the binoculars back over instead.

“Strike, you’re out. He’s gay.”

Cass held the binoculars up, looking where Katarina was pointing. The men’s division had wrapped up and were in the middle of announcing winners. Valmar had won the competition, and a spectator had run up to embrace him in celebration. A shorter man with dark hair.

“Fuck.” Cass cussed. “He could be a friend?”

Before Katarina could make a comment about gaydar, the pair (from what she could tell at this distance) kissed atop the podium.

Cassiopeia to her credit, didn’t seem fazed. “Oh dear. Alas, at least there's plenty of fish in the sea.”

"Not at the rate you're going." Katarina crossed her arms ignoring Cassiopeia's gentle punch. She leaned back as comfortably as she could on the metal bleachers, eyes sweeping the field. She never understood how her sister continued to pursue men with such zeal. As her mind wandered, her gaze drifted back over to the women’s division, having intentionally avoided looking over for a while now. Maybe she had imagined it.

Again, she could have sworn that the white haired figure was staring directly back at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really should make them interact more with each other... it's going to happen, eventually.
> 
> Also there IS a possibility that there may be a rating bump down the line, but only if I don’t chicken out before then lol.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out WAY longer than I expected to make it.
> 
> Some quick things:
> 
> 1\. I do not endorse or promote propaganda for the police. The professions of Marcus and others were chosen as the closest match to what I think would be reasonable for the characters in modern AU. That being said, I have zero idea how the police system works, so I will also make things up for the sake of this story.
> 
> 2\. Black Lives Matter. I'm not sure if I can link stuff here about it, so do some research and donate to fight racism and police brutality.
> 
> 3\. A mild trigger warning for attempted assault and lots of alcohol mention this chapter.

Katarina raced down the stairs at the sound of the doorbell, skidding to a stop at the living room landing when she saw Ashe on the couch, papers laid out across the entire coffee table in front of her. 

“What are you doing here?”

Ashe glanced up briefly at Katarina, twirling a pen in her hand. 

“Not enough room on my desk.”

“Oh… well I have friends over today so it might get noisy.” It struck Katarina that this was the first time Ashe was going to be home on a day that a large group of her friends would be over. They had had a few sessions and hangouts before that Ashe had never been home for.

“It’s fine.”

Ashe returned to her work, signalling the end of the conversation. The doorbell rang again. Katarina ran down the rest of the way to get the door.

“Took you long enough.” Cassiopeia quipped, examining her nails—A shorter French manicure, no claws this time. “I could feel myself aging out here.”

Katarina rolled her eyes and let her in, Talon trailing behind like a shadow, a large box cradled in his arms. Another taller man followed behind, nodding politely to Katarina as he entered, a white smile breaking across his dark skin. If Katarina didn’t know him so well, she could have taken the gesture as almost threatening. His unnaturally sharp teeth and equally sculpted cheekbones, in tandem with his dark hooded eyes made Renekton Gamal look like he was looking to turn you into his next meal. He was also perhaps one of the few friends that Cassiopeia didn’t cycle out on a monthly basis. 

Up the stairs, Katarina could hear Cass exchanging greetings with Ashe. She followed the voices back up to the living room to help Renekton set up their game table. They called it their game table, but in reality it was two beer pong tables shoved up against one another with a tablecloth thrown over top. They were just about done setting chairs up when Sarah finally waltzed in, followed not long after by Diana and Leona, completing what was likely the largest congregation of non-related redheads in one household at a time.

When it came to relationships, Katarina had never expected Diana to end up with someone so polar opposite of herself. Where Diana was quiet, and reserved, Leona with her sunny disposition was likely the epitome of extroversion. Unsurprisingly she even struck up a conversation with Ashe. What was more surprising was that Ashe responded in kind, though still reserved, she displayed a friendliness that Katarina had never seen before.

Katarina frowned. She suddenly needed to be a part of the conversation. She needed to find out what the hell was so interesting that they could actually have to talk about, let alone for Ashe to be nice about it. She didn’t want to admit it but the more she thought about it, the more it drove her up the wall wondering why Ashe only ever smiled at other people. It wasn’t a matter of jealousy, more of a desire to know what it was that she hated so much about her. Well… the constant fights over post-it notes probably didn’t help. To her credit, she had been doing better, if only just to avoid having to deal with more nit-picking.

“If you keep frowning like that, your face is going to get stuck that way.” Sarah had somehow sidled up to her without her knowing, which was alarming since Katarina was normally hyper aware of her surroundings.

“It’s been that way since birth.” Talon deadpanned from his seat at the head of the table. The only acknowledgement he returned to her glare was the slightest of smirks. “Can we start or are we here just to loiter?”

Everyone sans Ashe pulled up a seat around the table, attention fully focused on Talon. He pulled out his notes from behind the screen set up in front of him. His entire demeanour transformed, from that one of a withdrawn man to one fully in his element, launching them into where their tale had last left off.

~~~~~~~~~~

_Katarina threw another dagger, unflinching as it impaled itself into the throat of the wharf rat jumping at her, dropping it out of the air, inches from her face. Another one, larger this time, launched for her throat, she barely managed to turn in time so that its septic teeth only sunk into her shoulder instead. She bit back a cry of pain, reflexively digging a dagger deep into its side. It held fast regardless._

_Sarah came diving over a fallen crate, leveling the barrel of her flintlock at the creature on Katarina’s shoulder, and fired a deafening shot. The rat instantly went limp, Katarina pried its jaws from her shoulder. She dusted herself off, leveling an even glare at the swashbuckler._

_“Your hometown sucks.”_

_“Home sweet home.” Fortune kicked the dead rat out of the way, its body squelching out guts and gore. She pointed forward towards the squabble at the bow of the ship with the cutlass in her other hand. “Shall we?”_

_Without waiting on Katarina for affirmation, Sarah raced across the deck, cutting down any wharf rats that dared leap her way. Katarina sighed and felt the ring on her finger warm at its magical pull. She teleported herself ahead of the other rogue, directly on top of the adult razorfin wharf rat glancing its fangs against Renekton’s scaled hide. Her knife sliced across its neck, and Renekton finished the job by snapping his maw, beheading the dog-sized creature. He spat the head back to the ground, grimacing at its foul taste. He should have used his blade._

_Tightening his grip around the handle of his double sided scimitar, he cleaved another rat in half. Sarah’s pistol rang out again, dropping another two over his shoulder as Fortune caught up to them._

_“Is that the last of them?” He rumbled, his voice like crushed gravel grinding together. He turned to look over to Cassiopeia, surrounded by the petrified bodies of the attacking critters, flanked protectively by Leona in her polished armour._

_“They smell dead to me.” Cassiopeia flicked a forked tongue out to emphasize the point. “Your hometown sucks, Fortune.”_

_“But did you die, though?” Sarah teased, holstering her pistol in exchange for the spyglass at her belt. She swept the horizon, looking off into the distance to something the others were unable to see. “Razorfins are a good sign. It means we’re getting closer to land.”_

_Sure enough, jagged cliffs soon rose into view over the horizon, like the bow cresting over a wave. Sarah ordered a flag unfurled, a red banner with a gold insignia that normally stayed tightly lashed around the main mast of her ship. As they approached, the smells of the city hit the group like a wall of stale fish and sewage. Almost as off-putting as the sights of the many patrol ships lining the docks, port and starboard-side cannons aimed outward at the waters. Thankfully, likely due to the flag, they were able to pull in and dock without any issues._

_Cassiopeia muttered a few words under her breath, her form shimmering and morphing before their eyes. Her serpentine tail taking on the illusion of legs, claws and fangs shortening to less threatening lengths; Eventually, she looked like that of how she did before she was cursed—A red headed drow only a slight bit shorter than her sister._

_While a lizardfolk man like Renekton may be able to walk around without too much scrutiny here, a naga would be far less joyously received. Even in a place like Bilgewater._

_As soon as their gangplank was lowered, Sarah was across it, talking animatedly with the dockmaster, a squat gnome. She dropped a hefty coin purse in his palm casually, his eyes widened as he spied the glisten of gold through the loosened drawstrings._

_“There’s more where that came from if you can ensure my ship stays untouched in our stay here. I’m sure you’re going to be a dear and take really good care of her or you can talk to my friend over there.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder at Renekton who let out a half-hearted snarl._

_The dockmaster balked, but to his credit, managed to sound enthusiastic. “Yes of course. Name?”_

_“Miss Fortune will do.”_

_~~~~~_

_Sarah led the group through the maze that was Bilgewater’s slums. Adventuring groups were always a common sight in these parts, so the odd collection wasn’t given a second glance as they wound through the mismatched cobblestone alleys. Despite being a port city, the density of the wooden buildings were almost reminiscent of a dense forest._

Dead Man’s Plate _radiated a raucous energy that could be felt from blocks away. The three story tavern and inn was a Frankenstein’d building of the many structures that were built in its place before its conception. Despite it only being late afternoon, the noise that spilled from the open double doors indicated an almost full house. Day drinking was a normal pastime in Bilgewater after all._

_They were able to snag a table for five, Katarina shot the leader of another adventuring group a challenging glare, daring them to try and stake their claim. They didn’t. A round of ale ordered, and food on the table, the group settled in to listen to the hubbub of the tavern, eyes alert and ears open._

_“Where do we even start?” Leona was the first to ask, as per usual, being the one that tried her best to keep the party in line and on goal. Everyone turned to Sarah for an answer, this was her turf after all._

_“Well even here, the Shadow Isles have always just been a myth. People talk about it in the same way we tell bedtime stories.”_

_“King Jarvan seems pretty convinced that it’s real.” Cass pointed out. Their group had garnered a bit of a reputation for their deeds as of late, some good, others, not so much. Enough so that King Jarvan Lightshield III, King of Valoran, had summoned them to complete a fetch quest for him. A reward was offered, along with the opportunity to have him look the other way for blowing up a portion of Demacia City’s shopping district while taking down a criminal gang network. A threat veiled as a request._

_“Fuck Jarvan, we’re the whole reason he even has a city to live in right now.” Miss Fortune downed half her stein, “I know people here that can make us disappear for good. We can start over instead of going on a wild goose chase.”_

_“You’re absolutely certain we have nothing to go on? Aren’t there any vague rumours? Those whispers that seem like an urban myth with enough that it could ring true?” Cassiopeia pressed._

_“I’ll have to do some snooping around. Maybe we’ll be able to cover more ground if we split up to gather info.”_

_~~~~~_

_“Oh sure. Let’s split up. Let’s pair up the two most socially stunted to try and gather intel.” Diana droned rather casually, while punching a thug in the face. “I can’t believe I got stuck with you.”_

_“_ You _were the one that punched him in the face first. Technically you started it.” Katarina ducked under a swing, and countered, knocking another thug out with the blunt handle of her dagger. “Can’t we just kill these guys instead? They’re the ones trying to mug us.”_

_“Laws still exist here. We might get arrested if we kill ten guys on the street.”_

_Diana had a point. Even if Katarina wanted to opt for solving their problems with violence, getting arrested wouldn’t put them any closer towards their goal. So here they were, stuck in an alleyway fighting off a handful of armed bandits. It had been Diana’s idea to talk to them first. And Katarina’s to attempt to intimidate them (it did not work). In the end when things turned sour and they were nearly robbed, Diana punched the biggest and toughest looking one in the face. Despite their skills, the two were still outnumbered five to one._

_A quiet hiss drifted from the shadows, still audible despite the cacophony of noise, sending chills down the backs of everyone present, effectively halting the brawl. Cassiopeia slithered out into view, sunlight catching the scales of her lower body, yellow-green eyes reflecting unnaturally brightly. Her face cracked into an unnerving too-wide grin, revealing pointed fangs._

_“Run…” She crooned, her voice sultry, honeyed with venom._

_The colour drained attackers’ faces, probably being their first time seeing a naga in person. Most of the still conscious ones immediately turned to flee, the braver ones attempted to stand their ground for a moment, until Cass uncurled her claws—jagged and long like daggers. Katarina noted as the last of them ran by her, that it was probably convenient that their pants were already brown._

_“We had everything under control.”_

_“Hm? Did you?” Neither Katarina nor Diana had anything to retort. “We found a lead. Some people have family members disappearing after beginning a new worship. Apparently they were told that their loved ones went on an overseas pilgrimage. No one knows to where. We should look into that.”_

_Katarina instantly understood. They needed someone with the skills to pretend to be a fresh faced new believer. Someone like an assassin. “You want me to infiltrate a cult.”_

_~~~~~~~~~~_

“How does pizza sound?” Cassiopeia declared, suspending the game and pulling her phone out. Everyone around the table responded in affirmation, throwing out a single preferred topping—almost a tradition at this point. Her thumbs flew over the screen as she took the requests. “Ashe?”

Katarina turned in her seat, momentarily catching Ashe’s eyes as she looked up in surprise at being acknowledged. “Oh. Don’t worry, I’m going to heat up some leftovers.”

Cass shook her head, not having any of it. “You’re here already and house rules say you’re adding something, so pick a topping.”

Ashe scrunched up her face in thought, her nose wrinkled as she did so .“Anchovies.” She said at last, a sly smile curling at her lip.

All eyes fell on Katarina at the same time an unbidden grimace of disgust crossed her face. Leave it to Ashe to like the one pizza topping she could not stand. It was almost as if Ashe knew about this particular hate of hers, and was using that as ammunition against her. That couldn’t possibly be. Opinions on pizza toppings was hardly a topic anyone would bother to research about just to spite someone… or was it? If anyone would do it, it would be Ashe.

Cassiopeia let out a sharp laugh. “I’ll make sure it’ll only be on one.” She reassured her sister as she dialed in.

Katarina busied herself with clearing the table of dice and papers in hopeful avoidance of the ensuing teasing that was sure to come.

“Anchovies, eh?” True to form, Sarah began her ribbing as she helped clean up. “Did your dad manage to find the one person who would push all your buttons?”

“I know. Fuck me, right?” Katarina heard Sarah snort. “Don’t say it, gutter brain.”

The pizza arrived not too long later, Katarina tried not to gag at the smell coming from the topmost box as she grabbed them from the delivery boy. The salty smell of cured fish that assaulted her senses wrestled with her urge to throw up. She dumped the pizzas down on the game table harder than she had intended to.

Cassiopeia came from the kitchen carrying utensils, with Ashe not far behind her, a stack of plates in her arms.

“She can reach the nice plates on the high shelf without a stool. You should keep her forever.” 

Katarina knew her sister was trying to get a rise out of her, and yet she still couldn’t resist retorting back. “So can Renekton. She’s not special.”

“I’ll let you keep telling yourself that.” Ashe’s voice carried a note of amusement. Katarina felt her face heat with anger. She didn’t rise to the challenge.

Food in hand, Ashe made to head back towards the couch, but was immediately foiled by Sarah pulling up a chair at the table between herself and Talon. She motioned for Ashe to sit. There was a moment of hesitation, which Sarah caught immediately.

“Your homework will still be there in an hour. Come on, sit! Chat!” Katarina wanted to kill her friends for being as socially welcoming as they were, but for now, she would bite her tongue.

Ashe conceded, taking Sarah up on her offer. She was immediately swept up in an animated conversation, discussing trivial matters like school. She was a political science major, no surprise there as she did share classes with Cassiopeia. Katarina furled her brows as Sarah leaned in close to Ashe, a habit of hers in conversation. She was a natural flirt, disarmingly so. Katarina combated her annoyance with the rationalisation that Sarah was up to her old tricks and hoping to find some dirt on Ashe for her.

Katarina took an angry bite of her pizza, and immediately gagged at the explosion of briny fish taste in her mouth. She looked down to see a half bitten anchovy fillet, taunting her from atop her pizza slice. Cassiopeia’s laughter told her all she needed to know about how it ended up there.

“Pay attention, sis.” Katarina gingerly picked up the anchovy fillet, trying her best not to breathe in its smell, and flicked it at Cass, narrowly missing her cashmere sweater by a hair’s breadth. “Watch it!”

Katarina stuck her tongue out and flipped her sister the bird. Cassiopeia routinely rolled her eyes at the childishness, the exchange like many they’d had before.

“Can you guys make sure you’re free in a few weeks? I want to have an end of semester party.” Cass caught the look Katarina gave her, “Not here. I was thinking somewhere downtown.”

“Yeah sure.” It wasn’t like she had anything else to do. 

“We’ll check our schedules, but we might go on a trip this winter.” Leona answered for herself and Diana.

“You guys are so disgusting.” Cass teased not unkindly. Katarina shared the sentiment, though she didn’t say it. She would rather die than outwardly admit that she found joy in her friends’ happiness.

“... maybe if you’re interested, you can join next time.”

Both Du Couteau sisters instantly snapped their attention back across their table at their brother, only managing to catch the tail end of the conversation. Talon was talking to Ashe. More shockingly was the fact that it sounded like he had invited her to their next D&D session. Talon was extremely picky about who he allowed in his sessions. No one joined without his approval. Most of all, he usually left invites up to his two sisters, never offering it up himself.

“I couldn’t impose like that. It’s obviously your game amongst close friends.”

Katarina whipped her phone out.

[Katarina 7:57 pm]: _WHAT THE FUCK  
_ [Katarina 7:57 pm]: _WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?  
_ [Katarina 7:57 pm]: _WHAT DID I MISS  
_ [Sarah 7:58 pm]: _idk  
_ [Sarah 7:59 pm]: _she asked a question abt probability and game systems and talon got rly into explaining to her  
_ [Sarah 8:00 pm]: _then she asked sth abt item and ability interactions??_

Katarina glowered at Ashe in deep conversation with her brother. She could hear him insisting, citing what he clearly thought were interesting numerical details. Talon normally kept only to himself, more so than Katarina did. His siblings were largely his only friends, and this was his way of connecting with them. It almost felt wrong.

That’s it. Ashe must be a succubus, she decided. It was the only answer to how she managed to charm everyone around her. It seemed only Katarina was immune to her silvered tongue, and now it made sense as to why she was now trying to buy her off with kind presents by her coffee machine. Yes, that was clearly the only reasonable answer.

She whispered this idea to Cassiopeia.

“I think you’ve had enough D&D for today. Have you ever considered that maybe she’s just a nice person, and you’re just a slob?” 

“No.” Katarina responded, mock aghast. “Couldn’t be.”

Jokes aside, she wasn’t going to make a big deal in front of everyone present, so the only thing she could do was sit back and accept the reality that was Ashe possibly ruining all future game nights for her. She vowed to find proof that Ashe was somehow twisting everyone around her little finger.

* * *

That vow, she decided not even a few weeks later, definitely needed to be followed up on. 

Things since had started out being relatively uneventful. Their only one ongoing conflict continued to be Ashe’s insistence on cleaning the entire house top to bottom every single Sunday. While the early morning vacuuming wasn’t as much as a disturbance as it had been the first time, it was still a nuisance if Katarina wanted to spend time in the living room. Ashe reasoned that she was the one choosing to do most of the cleaning, so there shouldn’t be any complaint as to when and how frequently it happened. After a few verbal arguments, she eventually gave and opted for going out for part of the day instead. It was humiliating being pushed out of her own home, but she eventually lost the patience to continue arguing. 

As the end of the semester loomed closer, as did finals, stress levels and problems rose alike. Katarina saw less and less of Ashe again, much like before, and this past week, the post-it notes suddenly began again. If anything, it was far worse than it had originally been. Katarina had long given up replying via notes, as they went largely ignored. She was patiently waiting until the next time she could give Ashe a piece of her mind in person.

Katarina woke up Sunday morning feeling a strong sense of apprehension. It was, after all, the day Ashe was usually home. Moreover, Katarina, being a light sleeper, had heard her housemate return home late last night, and would most definitely have woken up again if Ashe had left this morning. At almost 8 am, she was surprised to not hear Ashe bustling around downstairs already. When Katarina made it down to the living room landing for breakfast, it quickly became apparent why.

Ashe was seated on the couch, fast asleep. Textbooks and meticulously taken notes (colour-coded, of course) covered the coffee table like usual whenever Ashe commandeered the space. As Katarina got closer, she realised she was being quieter than she expected. Technically there was nothing stopping her from creating a ruckus and disturbing Ashe’s sleep. She certainly felt it owed to her especially after the week of unsaid profanities she was ready to unleash. 

The only thing that made her think better of it was the way Ashe was slumped over, exhaustion evident even in unconsciousness. Telltale dark circles from lack of sleep decorated her pale skin under her eyes. Papers lay scattered on the floor, clearly having fallen out of her hands. Katarina watched for a moment, the peaceful rise and fall of Ashe’s chest to her quiet breathing. God, she even slept like she had no flaws. Who the fuck fell asleep sitting up on a couch and didn’t even snore? Even today without makeup it almost looked as if she had styled herself there.

She debated with herself whether or not to give in to her vengeful desires. One on hand, it would be the sweetest revenge. Katarina eventually opted for picking up the decorative throw that had fallen on the ground, gently draping over Ashe up to her chin. Never let it be said that Katarina Du Couteau was a heartless bastard.

She made her way to the kitchen, busying herself with her morning routine as quietly as she was able to, wondering in part what had possessed her to this act of kindness. Halfway through her cereal, a sharp rapping sounded from her front door. Katarina peeked out the kitchen door, checking if Ashe had stirred. No movement from the couch. Maybe if she just ignored the person at the door, they would go away. They usually were folks trying to talk to her for religious proselytising, or door to door salesmen.

Another knock.

Katarina swallowed her cereal grumpily. Usually if they thought no one was home they would leave afterwards. But what if they rang the doorbell? Holding back a groan, she tiptoed down the stairs to the entrance landing, opening the front door with full intention to immediately send away the visitor.

“Hey.”

Katarina almost slammed the door back closed on instinct. In fact, she actually would have done just that, except Riven reached out, one strong hand to stop the door from shutting entirely.

“Funny. I don’t remember it being this difficult to make you leave.” The bite in Katarina’s voice colder than the winter air.

“Can we talk?” Riven subtly looked over Katarina’s shoulder, implying to be let in. Katarina leaned against the door frame, blocking Riven’s line of sight.

“So? Talk, then.”

Riven’s lips flattened into a tight line. A long time ago, Katarina would have kissed those worry lines away. Now, the very memories of that stung. She hated the feeling of being vulnerable to her emotions. What made her angrier was now that she was face to face with Riven again, she could see her ex seemed to be doing rather well for herself. 

Gone were the ratty second hand hoodies and basketball shorts, instead she sported a stiff collared classic peacoat over casual slacks. Her hair was down today, hiding the undercut that Katarina had spotted last time, white hair framing startlingly red eyes. Back in high school it had always made her stand out, that was still the same now. It was also hard to tell with the coat, but she looked bigger than Kat remembered. Stronger. She looked good.

“I wanted to check up on you. See how you were doing.”

Katarina blinked, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Riven stayed silent, hands in her pockets. 

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say? No sorry I left? No explanations?” Katarina ground her teeth together. The more she listed out, the more her anger rose. “You think that you can just come back here and just check up on me like nothing’s happened. What’s next? That you still think we’re together?”

Riven breathed in sharply through her nose at the verbal assault, her breath crystallising in the winter air as she slowly exhaled, looking like she was trying to keep her temper under control. 

“I’m sorry.” She eventually forced out between gritted teeth.

If Riven had been thinking that it would placate Katarina, she was most definitely wrong on that fact. It had the exact opposite effect. The anger that flared hotly in her chest was enough to make her forget the cold, taking a step out from the doorway. 

“What are you apologising for? Your apology doesn’t mean shit when you say it for the sake of it.” Katarina got in close, a finger pressing on Riven’s sternum, each word punctuated with a harder press. “What the fuck are you even sorry for?”

Riven knocked Katarina’s hand away roughly. “I won’t fucking apologise for putting myself first for once.” It was familiar, pushing Riven’s button’s until she snapped. Katarina could recall a dozen similar arguments in the past.

“Putting yourself first doesn’t mean fucking over everyone else.” 

“It was a good fucking opportunity, okay?! What else do you want me to say about it? Whenever I brought it up with you, you never wanted to talk to me about it. How the fuck was I supposed to move forward in my life if I keep making decisions based on other people?” Riven’s voice rose in volume, but the two were so deep into their argument, they barely even noticed. “I always knew that this was how you’d react.”

“Yeah yeah, my dad offers you a full expenses paid trip boot camp halfway across the country, and suddenly it’s okay to just up and leave.”

“You want a real apology? Well sorry! I forgot you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth that you can’t imagine what it’s like to need to take every opportunity you can get. I don’t have the luxury to mess around and figure out what I want to do at my own leisure.”

Katarina blinked away tears of surprise. That stung. Riven, of all people, knew her insecurities. The worst part was, it was true. Riven hadn’t been from a very affluent family, quite the opposite actually. Katarina, on the other hand, came from old money. She had attended a private high school, where she met Riven, who had enrolled in the same via scholarship. 

Despite background circumstances, and the initial shock of his daughter’s coming out by announcement that she had a girlfriend, Marcus had taken a shine to Riven very early on. She was smart, resourceful, and eager to prove herself. All the qualities he wanted to see in his officers. He had been the one to recommend her to a private boot camp with a direct connection to military armed forces.

“You left!” Katarina was now shouting, she realised, but her emotions were too far out of her control to be reigned in. “Who the fuck just leaves like that?! No messages, no texts, no phone calls. NOTHING. I had to find out from my dad what had happened to you. Do you have any idea how fucked up that is!?”

She couldn’t stop herself now, the words just kept coming. Two years of unspoken anger with no outlet suddenly spitting out like verbal knives, not letting Riven get another word in. “And now, you have the gall to show up at my front door, two fucking years later, and just act like nothing happened? You think you can just say you’re checking up on me? If you fucking cared so much, then you wouldn’t have just disappeared on me. If you really fucking cared, I would have at least gotten a phone call or an explanation. Or better yet at least grow a pair and break up with me first if I was so much of a fucking roadblock for you. Just admit you were a fucking coward.” 

Riven stared back at her blankly, looking like she wanted to say something, jaw working in frustration. To say the both of them had struck a nerve in one another would be an understatement. At the corner of her eye, Katarina spotted movement. Her neighbour, a nosy French woman with a severe Karen haircut, was peeking over the fence in apparent interest. Katarina looked back to Riven, still quiet, nothing to say in self defense. A weariness fell over Katarina, and her stance lost its strength. 

“Why are you even here?” Riven opened her mouth to answer, but Katarina cut her off again. “Just leave. I’m done. I’ve been done, and clearly there’s nothing to work out here.”

Riven clenched and unclenched her fists, tension held across her entire body. “Fine…” Her voice quiet, as she too deflated, eyes shining with unshed tears.

Katarina saw herself back into her house, closing the door behind her, not even having the energy to slam it. Her back against the door, she closed her eyes, taking deep breaths. No matter how hard she tried to fight it, the deep sadness eventually won out, wracking her body with silent sobs. Unbidden tears streamed down her chin as she slid to the floor.

She stayed there for a few minutes, letting the moment of vulnerability pass on its own as her emotions warred within her. Katarina sniffled, wiping her face with the sleeve of her hoodie. The ghost of Riven may have become tangible again, and while maybe she could recover someday, today reminded her that her dreams of returning to how they once had been were over. She stood back up. She wouldn’t allow this moment to drag herself down, she was going to have to look forward and continue on. 

Fuck her.

Katarina didn’t need anyone who was going to readily leave her. Sure they were young, stupid, and in love. Sure she had been selfish, wanting to keep Riven close as much as she could. She hadn’t wanted to discuss opportunities that would lead them apart. And yes, she could admit that drove a wedge between them, but it most definitely didn’t warrant Riven’s sudden unannounced departure.

As she climbed the stairs, Katarina was hit with the realisation that she had been shouting downstairs with the door open. She arrived upstairs to an empty living room, coffee table devoid of paperwork. The couch throw was folded back up and draped over one of the armrests.

The number of times Ashe had been around during an uncomfortable encounter was getting out of hand. Katarina couldn’t even bring herself to be angry about it. She decided she’d go to the gym today, and take things out on a punching bag there.

* * *

Katarina nearly tripped on her way through the living room, the culprit, a small disc-shaped machine chirped almost cheerfully as it whirred across the floor. 

“What is this?”

“A roomba.” Ashe responded from the couch, a spot she had practically become a permanent fixture on over the past week. Katarina never did end up confronting Ashe about the week of post-it notes, which ended as abruptly as it hard started. The mortification of facing Ashe after her argument with Riven sapped her will to fight over petty matters.

“I know what it is, but why?”

“Compromise.” Ashe finally turned around to look at Katarina. “I’ll vacuum less often, and stop complaining about hair on the floor.”

Katarina eyed Ashe warily. Was this another strange gift of appeasement or pity?

“Oh… okay.” 

Ashe raised her eyebrows, wordlessly asking if they were done with the conversation, her expression changed nearly imperceptibly as her eyes traveled. Katarina had thrown on a leather jacket over her crop top, the gap showing off the jagged stylised floral patterns tattooed on the left half of her midriff. If Ashe was curious, she didn’t ask.

“Sure. Okay. Uh… bye.” Katarina mentally kicked herself at how awkward she must have sounded, now no longer sure how to end the conversation. Ashe waved wordlessly in response as Katarina dashed down the stairs.

If she didn’t pick up the pace, she would miss her bus. She hated transitting anywhere, but tonight she wanted to get wasted and not have to worry about taking her car. 

Forty minutes later, she finally arrived at the destination Cassiopeia had texted her, the sister establishment to the lounge Cass had held her birthday earlier in September. Unlike the subdued hidden-away atmosphere of _Charmed_ , _Allure_ was a full blown nightclub seated in the middle of one of the busiest streets downtown. A line stretched back and forth across the front of the building. Katarina groaned and texted her sister. There was no way she was going to wait in that line.

It only took a few minutes, but Cassiopeia’s social influence proved itself once again when one of the door bouncers looked directly at Katarina and motioned her over.

“Du Couteau?”

Katarina nodded, brandishing her ID as proof. The bouncer compared the photo to her face, then unclipped the rope on the stanchion next to him, moving out of the way to allow her in. She relished in the annoyed and jealous looks of the patrons waiting in line.

Inside, she was immediately plunged into a cacophony of smells and sounds. Sweat, alcohol, and perfume all coming together into a pungent mix. The dark interior was lit up occasionally by strobe lights and lasers pulsing in time to the heavy bass-y beat, so loud she could barely hear herself think. Katarina reveled in it, this was exactly what she needed tonight.

Bar first, sister after. 

Katarina shoved through the crowd, eventually making her way to the bar, flagging down a bartender. She ordered four red snappers, and threw in a smile and a wink for good measure. Four bright red whisky shots were promptly delivered to her. She had just raised the first glass to her lips when a hand darted out around her and snatched one of the shot glasses.

“Thank you~” Sarah singsonged, practically shouting to be heard. She tapped the glass against the one in Katarina’s hand and they both downed their respective shots.

“You owe me a drink.” 

Sarah pretended not to hear her. “Finish your drinks, I have someone I want you to meet.” A pause. “Don’t worry, I’m not trying to hook you up.” 

Katarina downed her remaining shots in quick succession. 

“Maybe that’s what I was hoping for.”

Katarina had expected Sarah to jump on the opportunity, but instead she was given a look of concern from the other redhead. She shrugged and motioned for her friend to lead the way, before falling in step behind Sarah as she pushed her way through throngs of dancing bodies.

They found Cass dancing among a small group of what looked to be her friends. The club was far too chaotic to tell how many people here were invited of Cassiopeia’s accord. As soon as they approached, one of the dancers in the group spotted them and ran up. She was a short petite Asian girl—waist long black hair, large doe eyes and a sweet smile. 

“This is Nami. Nami, this is Katarina.”

Nami instantly clasped one of Katarina’s hands between both of hers, giving one of the most exuberant hand shakes she had ever received.

“Nice to meet you! Sarah’s told me so much about you!” Nami shouted over the music.

The last time Katarina had heard that was from Jhin. At the time, she already had an inkling he was full of shit. Nami’s greeting couldn’t have been more opposite. She exuded an earnest friendliness that practically made her sparkle. Scratch that, she really did sparkle; Blue and green sequins bedazzled on her crop jacket in a rippling effect. Katarina instantly liked her honesty, and could tell why Sarah could have tumbled head over heels. It was refreshing.

Cassiopeia joined them, wearing some sort of ensemble that showed off a rather risqué sports bra. 

“Is that a mesh jacket?” 

Cass fake sneered back. “Really? Another leather jacket? You really need to be getting more creative, sister dear.”

“Why? So I could look like I’m wearing a cut up window screen too?” Katarina was regretting the jacket a little bit. The heat of the nearby dancing bodies and the alcohol she had already were starting to kick in. 

Sarah grabbed Katarina’s other free hand, and it was then she noticed the flush on Fortune’s face. She was already more intoxicated than Kat was. 

“Stop bickering, exams are over. Let’s dance!”

The four of them were pulled back into the crowds, moving with the ebb and flow of the dancers. Katarina let herself relax, she hadn’t gone clubbing in a while but the music helped ease her back in a familiar rhythm. 

Nami, as it turns out, was a fantastic dancer. Her hands up above her head as she swayed with her eyes closed, clearly feeling the music. The laser lights glinted off of her top in an almost enchanting manner as she moved. Or Sarah certainly made it seem that way with her inability to tear her eyes away. Katarina grabbed Sarah’s wrist, pulling her close to her. The surprised look on the other redhead’s face was rewarding; She almost never got the jump on her like this. The moment passed, and Sarah was soon dancing dangerously close, chest to chest with Katarina. They were gathering attention and they knew it. Katarina knew Sarah reveled in the attention, her grin widening when she spied Nami watching them as well. Katarina leaned in closer, hips close to grinding against Sarah’s. 

“Tell her yet?” Katarina’s breath tickled at Sarah’s ear. She made eye contact with Nami over her friend’s shoulder, and winked cheekily at her. It was hard to tell in the dim lighting and the alcohol charged setting, but she could have sworn she saw a dark red flush across Nami’s face.

“Fuck no.” Sarah husked back. 

“You should jump on that soon.” Katarina countered back, warning in her voice.

“Don’t you fucking dare, you son of a bitch.”

Katarina laughed, and let the atmosphere of the club crash down on her like a wave. Losing herself in the ebb and flow of music and shifting bodies. 

Somewhere between shots with Cassiopeia and highballs with Sarah, Katarina soon lost count of her drinks. Her memory and senses become far less reliable. At some point she had lost her group, dancing with what she thinks might have been a cute girl. To be honest, she wouldn’t trust herself to remember what she looked like the next day. 

Eventually Sarah found her again, Nami in tow. The girl dancing with Kat looked Sarah up and down, unveiled annoyance on her face as Sarah shooed her away with a dismissive hand gesture. 

“We’re leaving. I’m going to take her home.” 

Katarina checked her phone display. It was fifteen past midnight. When had so much time gone by?

“Already? Whatever happened to those days we stayed until closing?” Speaking out loud made Katarina realise she was slurring. 

“Trains stop in a few minutes, so we gotta get going.”

“Should’ve bought a car instead of a boat. Fine, I’ll just stay here and keep dancing with….” Katarina glanced around, the girl she had been dancing with was gone. “Aww man. Fuck you, Fortune.”

“For once? No comment.” Sarah’s eyes roamed her face, “Are you going to be okay?”

Katarina looked Sarah directly in the eyes. “I’m fine. I’ll hitch a cab home with Cass.”

“Okay. Fine then.” Sounding clearly unconvinced but relenting nevertheless.

Nami closed in, about to give a hug before hesitating for a second. “Are hugs okay? Sorry I forgot to ask.”

Katarina, in an inebriated haze, gathered up the smaller girl in a hug which was readily returned. Katarina mouthed _‘ask her already’_ at Sarah as she watched them hug. Sarah gave her the finger.

“It was really nice meeting you Katarina! I hope we’ll be able to hang out another time.” God, the bubbliness of this girl was unreal.

“Likewise.” Katarina returned, waving as the pair left towards the entrance. 

The next few hours was a hazy whirlwind of drinking, dancing, more drinking, and grinding against another random girl. Eventually she was among the patrons squinting in the comparatively blinding incandescent lights of the establishment as they switched on, signalling the club was closing for the night. The girl she was dancing with this time asked her for her number. Katarina considered it before declining. Even though she had resolved to get over Riven, the thought of it still caused her heart to hurt.

As she filed outside with the now sparse crowd, she realised she never did bump into Cassiopeia again after all. Her drunk brain concluded that her sister was probably fine, and proceeded to try to flag down a cab. A more difficult task to do at this time with everyone else trying to do the same. 

A wave of nausea hit her suddenly. Feeling queasy Katarina glanced around looking for a garbage can. Not seeing one she opted for the next best option and ducked into the nearest alleyway. The smell of wet garbage only made the nausea worse. Katarina held herself up, hand against the wall. Her vision span as she dry heaved. Maybe she did have a little too much to drink. Eventually her stomach emptied out its contents. Nothing but alcohol.

Throwing up didn’t seem to do anything for her drunkenness. She could still barely see straight. After what felt like ages, Katarina heard hushed voices coming down the opposite end of the alleyway. Normally not a cause for alarm, but the time and something in her gut told her to keep her guard up. That was easier said than done when her vision was nothing more than a bunch of spinning colours.

“Hey little lady, isn’t it too late to be out for you?” One of the voices sneered, closer than she had thought them to be. Katarina tried to focus the shapes in her vision into recognisable images.

“Fuck off.” She slurred.

“Hey, that isn’t very nice language to use towards people just trying to help you get home.” The other slimy voice threatened. She could vaguely make out their general silhouettes now. They didn’t seem very tough looking.

“I said fuck off.”

“Come on,” The first guy responded, malintent clear in his voice. “We’re just gonna help you out here.”

A hand landed on Katarina’s shoulder. Her body reacted entirely on instinct, and she grabbed that same hand with her own, twisting the fingers painfully until she felt that they nearly popped. Every single instinct from self-defense training that her father forced her through kicked in. The man screamed and swiped at her with his other hand, and she ducked, driving the heel of her palm into his chin. His companion seemed too shocked to react. At least she assumed him to be, she couldn’t quite make out their faces very well.

“Why are you just fucking standing there, help me hold this bitch down!”

Startled into action, her attacker’s buddy finally seemed to get the move on. Too slow. Katarina tightened her grip on the man’s hand, turning his elbow as well, forcing him to his knees. She followed up with a sharp knee up to his face, impacting with a satisfying crunch. Releasing him and shifting her weight, she snapped a kick out into the chest of the other assailant, this one much more thin and wiry than his friend. She could hear the air rush out of his lungs as he stumbled backwards, trying to catch his fall. Katarina swallowed. The movement had almost made her throw up again.

“I said… fuck off.”

“Shit. This bitch is crazy, this isn’t worth it.” The first man croaked out, holding his nose as he got back his feet. The pair immediately began to run back the way they came.

Good riddance.

Now that the adrenaline had subsided, it really hit Katarina how close that encounter was. She needed to get home before she got herself into something more dangerous. She stumbled out of the alleyway into the now much emptier streets.

* * *

“Disorderly conduct while drunk, and assault of a patrol officer.” Katarina gave her best innocent look at the officer seated at the desk across from her. “Honestly, I had hoped not to see you again here so soon, but look where we are, Miss Du Couteau.”

“What can I say? I’m such a big fan. Couldn’t stay away.”

If the officer processing her was amused, it was hard to see if he smiled at all from underneath the impressive mustache he sported on his upper lip. He was a gigantic bear of a man, easily three times wider than Katarina was. Though she could tell he seemed to be getting a little on in his age, and started to show what was the beginnings of a beer gut. She squinted at his badge, now sober enough to see clearly. _‘Det V. Volibjorn’_ , it read. He was the same one that had dealt with her last time, when she had gotten into that brawl with Cassiopeia’s ex. The very same fight that landed her in her current roommate situation.

This time, while stumbling around looking for a cab, she had gotten stopped by a patrolling officer. Still on high alert from the incident just prior, she retaliated to his approach, which immediately resulted in her being booked and escorted to the station.

“I’ll call your father in the morning so as to not disturb him. You can spend the night here to learn your lesson.”

Shit.

She hadn’t spoken to him since before he left out east. The last thing she wanted was to get into another fight with him. Worst case scenario, he would even fly back to reprimand her. If the last time had lost her her freedom at home, this one might be the final straw that would send her packing back to the homestead.

“Don’t I get a phone call? Can’t I get someone to pick me up?” She hated begging, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

A hint of a smile reached Officer Volibjorn’s eyes.

“Sure. Why not.” Obviously in a good enough mood to assent. “If you can find someone who’s willing to get you at this god-forsaken hour.”

He motioned towards the phone hanging off the wall. Though they had confiscated her phone, they hadn’t bothered to keep her in cuffs once they found out who she was, so she was able to immediately make her way there. Dialing off Cassiopeia’s number by heart, she pressed the receiver to her ear.

No answer.

Katarina rubbed her forehead in frustration and tried again. The same result. Cassiopeia wasn’t as light of a sleeper as she was, but she wasn’t usually this difficult to contact. Part of her began to worry. Had something happened to her at the club? She hadn’t been in the right state of mind to check her texts earlier so she had no idea if Cass had said anything to her. She pushed the thoughts down. She needed to get herself out of this situation first. After the third dial she gave up and tried Sarah instead. Unsurprisingly, no response. That woman slept like a log. No response from Talon either. If he was at work, there was no way he would answer.

She ran through her mental list of contacts. Curse the fact that Diana and Leona had decided to follow through with their Vegas trip. Spitefully (and out of genuine friendship) she hoped they got hitched. Knowing them, she doubted it. But that still crossed another possibility off her list.

“Should probably hurry it up, people might be waiting to use the phone.” Volibjorn joked as he watched her, clearly enjoying himself. There was hardly anyone else around. Everyone else they had booked that night was already in the holding cell. If Katarina didn’t come up with something fast, she would join them there.

There was… one more option.

Katarina dialed one more phone number, fingers gripping the phone tightly in hope. No dice. Not willing to give up quite yet, she tried one more time. On the first ring, the line connected.

“Hello?” A very groggy sounding Ashe greeted. Katarina had never felt happier to hear her roommate’s voice in her entire life. At the same time, she mentally thanked the fact that her security system was one that required being linked to a landline.

“Thank fuck. It’s me.”

“Katarina?” Ashe sounded far too tired to hide her surprise.

“Yeah… Look. I’m so sorry, and I will owe you big time, but I’m in a little trouble here and I need your help.” Katarina relayed her situation, trying to keep most of the embarrassing details out.

Ashe listened quietly without interrupting until Katarina finished.

“Sure.” Came the answer, quicker than Katarina had expected. “What’s the address?”

Ashe made it to the station within thirty minutes, far faster than Katarina had thought it would take. Volibjorn looked up from his paperwork with apparent surprise when she entered. For someone who had been woken up at four am, Ashe was surprisingly put together. She was dressed in a trim button up trench coat, her hair neat and clipped back, and her heels clacking smartly on the linoleum completed the ensemble.

“I’m surprised. You really managed to find someone to pick you up.” Volibjorn handed Ashe a pen, and instructed her to sign off some paperwork. He pulled a bin from under the desk and handed Katarina back her belongings. She noted with relief that Cassiopeia had texted her hours ago that she was going home. He nodded at Katarina. “You’re free to go.”

“See you next time.” Katarina grinned and waved while Volibjorn looked unimpressed at the joke. 

Ashe didn’t say anything to Katarina until the pair made it out into the foyer.

“How did you even manage this?”

“Not one of my finest moments.” Katarina winced. “Fuck, my dad is going to fucking kill me. I swear to god, he’s going to make me move back home.”

Ashe stopped in her tracks. “He would do that?”

“Yeah… I’m so fucked.” At this point Katarina was far too tired, and still feeling some slight effects of her massive amounts of drinking, to stop her honesty. “If he finds out, that’s going to be the end.”

Ashe frowned. Katarina wondered if Ashe was worried about having a place to live if Katarina left. Before she could assure her that her father would probably just rent the whole place to her, Ashe turned on her heel and headed back into the offices.

“I’ll be right back. Wait here.”

Katarina stood momentarily stunned in the foyer by herself. She shifted from foot to foot, not sure whether to actually wait. What the heck was Ashe going to do anyway? And why was she standing here doing what she was told? And by Ashe of all people? Katarina followed Ashe into the offices as well, and spotted her back at Volibjorn’s desk. 

She watched in surprise as the large man smiled, deep in conversation with the white haired woman. Ashe herself was laughing, a throaty warm laugh that made Katarina uneasy. Had she ever seen Ashe laugh before? Strange that with how little words she exchanged with Katarina, she almost seemed to command a certain mastery of them now. Katarina couldn’t hear the details of the conversation from the doorway, but she saw Ashe say something, and then reach into her purse to pull out a small leather bound booklet. Some scribbling, and a leaflet torn out later, Katarina realised Ashe was handing him a cheque. The conversing pair shook hands, and Ashe turned back towards the door, unsurprised to see Katarina standing there. She motioned to Katarina to leave.

Katarina did as she was asked, only more confused as Volibjorn gave her a cheery wave from across the room. Back outside, Katarina turned on Ashe right away.

“What did you do?”

“It’s a wonder how a report can suddenly go missing if there’s a donation given to the detachment.” Ashe responded as she fished Katarina’s car keys out of her purse. "I can be _very_ convincing."

Katarina’s red Porsche was an easy find in the lot. She pulled the door open and hopped into the passenger seat while Ashe got in the driver’s. She would normally not let anyone else drive her car, but she wasn’t ready to add impaired driving to her list of things she would fuck up today.

“You _bribed_ him?” Katarina wasn’t sure if she was grateful, impressed, or surprised. Probably all three at once. She definitely didn’t think Ashe would bend rules like that.

“They’re cops. Money speaks more than rules do.” Ashe shrugged. The engine roared as she started the car, and pulled out of the lot to make their way home. The conversation died there.

Katarina watched her roommate in silence, not sure what to make of her now. With her eyes on the road, Ashe couldn’t exactly see it, but Katarina tried to be discreet regardless. Only the moon and the occasional streetlight illuminated Ashe’s profile, but it was interesting how her hair seemed to catch every ray, almost glowing. She did have a nice profile, a high nose, and full lips outlined by the slightest rim light. 

“I’m hungry.” Katarina broke the silence at last, the brightly lit archway sign on the road ahead set off an almost Pavlovian response to her appetite.

“Now?” Ashe glanced over, a slight bit annoyed. “It’s 4 am.”

“Threw up in an alleyway.” As if to punctuate her point, Katarina’s stomach rumbled.

Ashe took a deep breath through her nose, and slowly exhaled, before turning into the McDonald’s drive through.

* * *

Katarina ripped the paper bag open, laying it flat across the kitchen table, and dumped the fries and chicken nuggets atop it. Across the table, Ashe unwrapped her cheeseburger.

“I can’t believe we’re having fast food at four thirty in the morning.” Ashe mused, before taking a bite.

“It's exactly that that makes fast food taste better.” Katarina assured, mouth already full of chicken.

Katarina was too hungry to care about manners, wolfing down the meal with the zeal of a teenage boy at the peak of his puberty. Finally, Katarina sat back in her seat and let out a belch. Ashe wrinkled her nose in slight disgust. 

“‘Scuse me.” Katarina said with a grin, tipping her soft drink at Ashe, who only gave her an exasperated smile back. Katarina put her cup down, a seriousness taking over her demeanor. If you had told her a week ago that she would be here, sitting across from Ashe in a genuinely friendly manner, she would have called you a dirty liar. She couldn’t even believe herself what she was going to say. “I uh… I just want to say thanks. I really owe you big time for tonight. Whatever you want, you got it. I’ll even shine the toilets every weekend, just how you like it.”

Ashe didn’t respond at first, only regarding Katarina back with one of her unreadable expressions. No matter how many times Katarina looked into them, they were still such a startling blue, it was difficult to look away.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. You don’t owe me.” Katarina tilted her head in surprise, not really understanding. Ashe went on, “I haven’t exactly been the most pleasant person to share a home with. It is your home after all, and I tried too hard to impose too many expectations on you. I was stressed and in a bad mood last week and I unfairly took that out on you as well. For that, I am genuinely sorry.”

“Oh…” Katarina didn’t know how to respond. “If you say so.”

The two fell into an awkward silence. Katarina wanted to apologise as well, even if it wasn’t something she would normally felt she needed to be sorry for. Even though Katarina hadn’t asked for it, Ashe really did do most of the house cleaning. The nit-picking over small things were an overall contribution to the household. And it pained her to admit it, but Ashe’s presence in the household definitely improved the state of the place by a vast amount. Katarina sipped her soda, trying to find some way to word her thoughts.

A thump against the wall caused the both of them to jump in surprise. Then another. It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the wall. The townhouses shared walls between their neighbours.

“What the fuck?”

A muffled moan joined the thumps, and more came soon after. Ashe’s eyes widened in shock as realisation hit. Katarina looked right back at her with equal amounts of surprise. Katarina didn’t really know the neighbours on that side of their house (French Karen lady lived on the opposing side of these neighbours), but she now decided that she would never be able to look them in the eyes again if she saw them. The only room that could have been on the other side was their kitchen for goodness sake!

“I’m uh… going to shower and go to bed.” Katarina announced, gathering up the garbage to throw away.

Ashe was on her feet in an instant, helping out. The moans got louder and harder to ignore.

“Good call.” Ashe’s face was flushed pink.

The two rapidly cleaned up and raced up the stairs, eager to avoid the awkward situation, muttering goodnights at Ashe’s bedroom door before parting ways. Katarina rubbed her face as tiredness set in.

What a wild night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop! Thanks for sticking by that one. It was a doozy. I had things that I wanted to happen this chapter, but as I wrote it got REALLY long.
> 
> It is now obscenely early in the morning, so I'll fix errors... tomorrow... zzZ


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHH FINALLY. I'm sorry, this was a really difficult chapter to write. There were scenes that I needed in there, and this chapter ended up as the dump chapter for most of it. But this chapter needed to happen, so it's out here in the wild now.
> 
> Also weird how the day after I posted the last chapter involving D&D in Bilgerwater, Riot posts their crossover collaboration for a Bilgewater themed D&D adventure. I might go back and change some details from the setting guide like MF's class.

Things changed after that night. Katarina wouldn’t go as far to say she and Ashe had become friends, but the worst of the hostility between them had rightfully faded. Ashe kept to her word, and backed off on all cleanliness complaints. Katarina no longer spent her time actively avoiding Ashe, which given the timing of end of semester exams being over, meant that the both of them were home more. That in itself revealed a lot of Ashe’s daily schedule, now less erratic than it had been during the school semester. For instance, Katarina learned that Ashe’s routine started around the same time hers did. 

The first time it happened, Katarina had been so used to Ashe being up for at least an hour before she did, the sight of Ashe in the kitchen munching on a slice of toast had her frozen in astonishment. Well… it could have been that _and_ the fact that she discovered Ashe wore lacy nightgowns for PJs. Her brain nearly short circuited at the sight, memories of the loud sex they had overheard from their neighbours two nights prior filled her mind. Not that she saw Ashe in a sexual manner, but the nightgown left just enough to get her imagination running. Their greetings that morning were awkward to say the least. Katarina couldn’t have been sure if Ashe’s mind drifted to the same place, but the sleeping robe she wore overtop every morning after that was an indication if any. A few days into seeing one another every morning over brewing tea and coffee, they eventually grew accustomed to each others’ presence and the stilted awkwardness faded.

The second thing Katarina discovered (or the third if you counted the nightgown), was that Ashe left the house more often than Katarina had expected. At least once a day for a jog, which was insane given that it was now middle of December, and once every other day with a flat case that Katarina assumed was a bow.

The last was Ashe cooked a lot. Literally all her meals were made at home, unlike Katarina who ordered out most nights.

So that’s how they found themselves Friday night, Katarina settled down on the couch with Chinese takeout for an evening movie; Sounds and smells of Ashe’s cooking wafting from the kitchen. 

“What are you watching?”

Katarina’s heart skipped a beat, nearly jumping in her seat. She had been so focussed on the opening credits of her movie she hadn’t heard Ashe walking up to the couch. Katarina turned to find Ashe leaning forward over the back of the couch, watching the TV screen while holding her dinner plate. She was so close that loose strands of white hair tickled at Katarina’s nose. 

“Oh, it’s a movie Diana lent me. Some Japanese horror flick.”

Ashe hummed and nodded in understanding, eyes still trained on the television. Katarina caught a whiff of her perfume; Warm and earthy. Huh. She expected Ashe to be more of someone who enjoyed florals more.

“You know you can sit down, right? That’s what couches are for.”

Katarina had thought it to be only a momentary distraction for Ashe, and fully expected Ashe to decline and return to her room for dinner like she usually did. She did not expect Ashe to take her up on the offer and sit down to join her. Katarina picked up the remote and rewound the film to the beginning. 

At first, Katarina couldn’t focus. The idea of Ashe—who again, was still not her friend—sitting next to her and watching a movie with her was such a ludicrous idea. Was she supposed to say something? Katarina hated talking during a film, but she hated the charged atmosphere between them more. Eventually, Katarina wasn’t sure when, the plot line of the film drew her in and the noise in her head tuned down into comfortable silence. Before she knew it, the film ended and nearly two hours had gone by.

“I honestly thought that would have been more frightening.” Ashe broke the silence first after the credits began to roll.

“Japanese horror films tend to either be dark psychological thrillers or ghost films. And I’m not really a fan of paranormal films. There’s nothing scary about what’s not real.”

Ashe tilted her chin up, her expression one of understanding. “I see. So the horror this presents is the idea of being open to the suggestion of losing all inhibitions, and submitting to one’s super-ego in order to perform otherwise horrendous acts?”

“Yeah. I suppose… I think the director wants the viewers to be stuck on the ending scene as a question to yourself about how much of your own ego truly defines you, and what would be left if you were to lose that. I think it maybe even suggests that most people have a much more corrupt sense of inner morality than you might think.”

Ashe turned her full attention to Katarina, a slight smirk of merriment on her face. “I never took you to be such a critical analyst.” 

“Looks can be deceiving, Princess.” Katarina felt her usual annoyance creeping up to warm her cheeks. To be fair, she did assume her fair share of Ashe. “I really like horror flicks. Not all of them are this deep. I’m a fan of slashers, after all.”

Ashe looked unperturbed by the nickname. Still smiling as she gathered up her dirty dishes and stood. “Do you have any particular favourites?”

Katarina followed suit, automatically following Ashe to the kitchen to continue the conversation. “Good old classics like Friday the 13th, Halloween, Saw, to list a few. Cabin in the Woods is a great subversive parody on the genre.”

“I can’t say I have any opinion on them, as I haven’t seen them.”

“Really? Never?” Katarina leaned against the counter as she watched Ashe wash her dish. “Someday I need to show you some good ones, then. What kind of movies do you like, then?”

“I couldn’t really say. I don’t watch movies often.” Ashe held her hand out expectantly. Katarina looked back at it dumbfoundedly until she saw Ashe eyeing the dirty plate in her hand. She handed it over, offering a quiet thanks. Ashe nodded in acknowledgement as she continued, “I was definitely more drawn in by books. Fantasy novels are a particular guilty pleasure of mine.”

“Then I guess you’ll get on just fine for D&D, then.” 

“About that.” Ashe turned on Katarina, a slight look of trepidation on her face as she towelled her hands dry. Katarina was surprised by the range of emotions she was getting from Ashe today. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable if you don’t want me there. If so, you can tell your brother that I’m too busy for it.”

Katarina had in no way bothered to hide her disdain for Ashe over the past six months. Ashe’s overall lack of acknowledgement to it made Katarina assume she didn’t seem to give a damn about what she thought. 

Curious. It was hard to say for sure, but it almost seemed like Ashe _wanted_ to join in with them. Talon must have sold her very well on the concept of the game. Very curious indeed.

“It’s fine.” Ashe’s eyes widened ever so slightly. “I said I owe you one. I _suppose_ I could allow you to join in.”

“How kind of you.” Ashe deadpanned. Though her voice was even, Katarina could have sworn she saw the slightest hint of a grin tugging at the corner of her lips. Not quite a real smile, but it was some progress, at least.

* * *

Katarina awoke with a jolt when Cassiopeia nudged her knee.

“You were snoring.” Cass delivered flatly. 

Katarina stretched, arching to get rid of all the kinks built up in her back, nonplussed by any eyes on her for having fallen asleep on a shopping mall bench. With the vibrant shade of her hair, and less than inconspicuous scar, she was used to unwarranted attention anyway. Kat stood, and grabbed the shopping bags held in Cass’ outstretched hands. At their third boutique of the day since they entered the mall, the fancy paper bags they carried between them were beginning to add up.

“Are you going to actually do any shopping today, or were you just kindly offering your pack mule services?” Cass asked, looking every bit the role of a rich heiress with too much money to spend. Despite the insane December crowds, Cass somehow made them part for her. Christmas shopping was the worst, but going with Cass made it marginally bearable.

“I’ll know what I want to get people when I see it.” Katarina had a general idea in mind when it came to buying her friends gifts. Thank goodness they mostly weren’t the picky sort. They had come to an agreement to NOT give Katarina gifts for Christmas as it was difficult to buy her anything that she didn’t already have. Rather than having them feel any pressure, she requested no gifts. That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to get them something for having put up with her for another year.

“You’re not going to see anything if you don’t at least walk into the store. Have you any idea what you’re going to get Sarah?”

“I dunno. Fishing gear? Clothes? A dildo?”

Cass pursed her lips. “Really? Aren’t you a little too old to be buying gag gifts for your friends?”

“I’m dead serious!” Katarina shrugged flippantly. “What else am I supposed to get her? I don’t suppose you have any ideas.”

Cassiopeia rounded on Katarina, halting them in their tracks. She dismissed the looks of the annoyed patrons filing around them with a bat of gold glitter dusted eyelashes. She gestured to the storefront they were stopped in front of— _Emperor’s Divide_ —A rather opulent looking jewelry shop. The closed doors flanked by a marble façade displaying glittering wares in display windows was an indicator of just how much money they were expecting their patrons to have.

“How about something shiny?” A crafty smile formed on Cass’ face, an almost predatory gleam in her eyes. “Get her something to match with her new lady friend. Different enough to just be a coincidence, but similar enough for her to notice.”

Katarina smiled as the realisation dawned on her with what Cass was implying. “Since it’s a gift from me, she can’t NOT give it to Nami. Either one can draw any conclusions or implications but I have plausible deniability. Fuck, that’s genius.”

Cass feigned a hair toss as best she could with her arms laden with bags. “Meddling is what I do best.” She led the way into the store, the door held open by a stern looking security guard.

A tall older gentleman with warm burnished skin greeted them as they entered. Heavy amounts of gray lined his short tightly curled locs and trim goatee, implying he was older than he looked. Cassiopeia immediately began to point out items in the glass displays to get a closer look. Katarina requested a few that caught her eye, but for the most part, Cass knew Sarah well enough to pick pieces that would suit her.

“What do you think of Nami?” Katarina asked while the shopkeep busied himself to gathering and stacking cushioned trays.

“She seems like a sweet girl. A little much of her heart’s on her sleeve though. Someone like Sarah could just eat her right up.”

Katarina nodded in agreement. Sarah did have a history of being a little bit of a heartbreaker behind her. “Then can you tell if she likes Fortune?”

“Hard to really know for sure since we met at a club.” Cass tapped her chin with a pastel lacquered nail as she considered the question. “I think she’s… intrigued."

“Hmm… That’s good enough for me. Help me pick something.”

The shopkeep, clearly very passionate about his wares, waxed on about the fine craftsmanship of the jewellery he showed the pair; How every single stone was not synthetically made and precisely cut. Cassiopeia pointed out a few simple pieces, making a particular emphasis on nautical themed ones.

Eventually Katarina settled on a gold anchor pendant, a cleverly tension set emerald gave it the illusion of mooring caught on treasure. The necklace chain was twisted through metal loops on the pendant itself, utilizing the chain as part of its design. She chose a bracelet in silver, matching to the necklace in design but with a less prominent gemstone set into the shank of the miniature anchor.

“Will you be needing these wrapped?”

Katarina nodded. Gift wrapping services were her saving grace against giving a present that looked like a child had done it. The older man nodded and proceeded to take the boxes to a back room. 

“So.” Cassiopeia turned to Katarina, giving her a look. “Any chance you’re going to tell me why I had three missed calls from the police station last week?”

Katarina held back a grimace, hoping that it didn’t show on her face. Cassiopeia’s stare intensified, implying words without saying them aloud. “Did you call them back?”

“It was weird. Despite how persistent they were, no one I spoke to had any idea who had dialed me. No record whatsoever of any arrests of anyone I knew on, what was coincidentally, the night we went clubbing.” Katarina opened her mouth for a witty retort but Cassiopeia continued, prepared for any excuse. “Look. I don’t know what kind of hooliganism you got up to, and frankly I don’t care, since you’re obviously still alive. But you better not be expecting me to cover your ass when papa finds out.”

Katarina bit her lower lip. “He won’t.” 

“You say that like you didn’t punch a cop or something.”

“Hey! That was a pretty good guess. But no, I threw one.”

Cass made a face like she had just eaten a bitter lemon. “Jesus Christ, Kat.”

Katarina snorted.

“That’s not funny. Seriously don’t come crying to me if he makes you move back home.”

“I’m like 90% sure he won’t find out.”

Cassiopeia raised both eyebrows, fixing her with a look that said, _‘Explain.’_ Katarina huffed. She would rather have swept everything under the rug, but there was no hiding anything from her sister. If Cassiopeia really wanted to know something, she would find out eventually. Katarina did consider making her jump through the hoops, but ultimately decided against it.

“Ashe bribed a detective to destroy the report on my detainment. If he’s smart, he’ll keep mum on it to stay out of trouble. Plus, I think I’m on his good side.”

“Bullshit.”

“You know that sounds too ridiculous to be a lie.”

Cassiopeia considered her sister with narrowed eyes. “Since when were you and Ashe best of friends?”

“Since you decided to sleep through all my phone calls. Duh.” Katarina joked, grinning as Cass’ eyebrows furled more. “I think she thought if I got kicked back home, she wouldn’t have anywhere to stay.”

“Papa would have just rented the whole place to her, but I guess it’s good for you that she thought that. Still that’s awfully nice of her considering you guys hate each other.”

“It’s weird. I think we’re okay now. Like... we tolerate each other.” Katarina intentionally neglected to mention the more courteous acts of friendship they were now granting one another.

“Are you going to get her a Christmas gift?” 

The sudden pivot in conversation momentarily took Katarina by surprise. “No? Should I?”

“She literally paid an undetermined sum of money to save your ass. It’s the least you could do.” Cassiopeia gave Katarina a look of mild disdain that had no actual bite behind it. Katarina was used to her sister’s judginess involving the social skills of her two siblings. Plus, as much as she hated to admit it, Ashe really had done her a solid.

“I’ll think about it.”

* * *

The hilled drive up to the front of the Du Couteau estate was so much worse when the sky decided to dump a thick layer of white bullshit—also known as snow—over everything. It took all Katarina’s concentration to not accidentally hydroplane her baby off the path and into one of the trees on the side. With luck, the weather would clear up by evening, and she wouldn’t be snowed in with her entire family. That is, if she didn’t total her car first. Katarina was able to safely get her car parked in the estate garage after much struggling.

Brannin was already waiting for her at the side entrance, one hand holding the door open, and the other outstretched to take the box tray balanced in her arms. Katarina gratefully handed it over, leaving her arms free to support the other bags she had hanging from her arms.

“I brought food and booze~” Katarina sing-songed as she entered the living room. She gently placed her bags (mostly wine), on the table. Arms now free, she scooped her sister up into a hug. “Merry Christmas, guys.”

Cass smiled and gave her a reciprocating hug and greeting. This time of year was usually her favourite. Talon, not being a particularly huggy type pat the two of them on the back. “Happy Holidays.”

“Where’s dad?” Katarina looked around the living room where just the three siblings stood. It certainly was far more festive than her last visit here a couple months ago. Though she knew it was work of the housekeeping staff, seeing the house like this evoked certain old memories to stir. Mostly bittersweetly fond.

“In the greenhouse. Aunt Zyra’s here.” Cass responded, nose back into her phone as usual.

Summoned like her name was stated three times, their aunt entered the living room, her jacket nearly tripling her size in volume. Marcus followed not far behind her.

“God, I hate this time of year. You really need to build an insulated walkway to the greenhouse, Marcus.” Zyra shed her jacket and toque, handing both to an awaiting Brennan. She shook her waist length red hair free, a little worse for wear from being bunched up under a hat.

While Cassiopeia definitely took more after their mother, the family resemblance was undeniable between Katarina and her father’s younger sister. Long sharp features contrasted her brother’s heavy square jawline, and her hair took on a much more prominent sheen of blood red unlike Marcus’ fading copper. All features that could easily be lined up with Katarina’s own. 

Marcus’ eyes crinkled as he shook his head in exaggerated disbelief. 

“Just because you’ve self appointed yourself as head gardener here doesn’t mean I’m going to rearrange the whole house for you.”

The exterior gardens and greenhouses had been their mother’s pride and joy. Her sister-in-law was the only one she ever trusted to give advice and tend to the plants other than herself. Since Faustina’s passing, Aunt Zyra almost became a constant fixture in the house for a time, tending to the gardens and greenery when no other family member could even bring themselves to enter the premises for the painful memories. Eventually as time passed, and those memories became less painful, the gardens returned to being the quiet sanctuary it was meant to be. In a way, their aunt had preserved a part of their mother in doing so.

“Oh Katarina, you’re here!” Zyra noticed Katarina for the first time, and walked over. Kat braced herself for the cheek pinch she knew was coming; The worst part of coming back home when Aunt Zyra was around. “You really need to come home more, you naughty girl.” 

“Merry Christmas to you too.” Katarina responded the best she could with her cheek pinched between her aunt’s fingers. She liked her aunt well enough to just barely tolerate it.

Marcus turned a smile onto Katarina. “Good, you’re not as late as I thought you would be.”

Normally, she would have retorted with something snarky, however she noted her father’s good mood. Far from the sour note that she had last left him with a couple months ago. From the looks of it, the news of her little _accident_ hadn’t made it to him after all. Katarina decided she wouldn’t push it. 

“You know me, too cool to be on time.”

Marcus clapped his hands together, pointedly ignoring the remark. “Alright, everyone settled? Let’s get cooking.”

Du Couteau holidays consisted of three main components: Booze, the company of one another, and a home cooked meal that everyone pitched in to make. It was the one tradition they stuck with year after year without fail. Everyone would pitch in, including Marcus. Except Katarina was usually relegated to only chopping things up as no one seemed to trust her to actually cook anything.

Katarina snapped her fingers at Cassiopeia who was still seated on the couch on her phone while everyone else filed into the kitchen. 

“Hello, earth to Cass. Just because your ego’s in the stratosphere doesn’t mean your brain has to join it too.”

Cassiopeia pocketed her phone and kicked Katarina lightly in the shins before standing. 

“Fuck off.”

“Aww where’s your Christmas spirit, ya Scrooge?”

Cassiopeia gave her sister a pointed glare. Not one of abject malice, but enough to warn Katarina she was stepping on some thin ice.

“You’re so annoying.” Cassiopeia finally stated after what was an unusually long pause, as if she was deciding just how much she was willing to bicker with Katarina today.

“It’s what I do.” Katarina retorted with a half grin, flourishing an arm for Cass to lead their way towards the kitchen.

* * *

“Shit—FUCK!! OW!”

Katarina struggled to try to catch her balance, a much more difficult feat when one’s arms were full. Her toe throbbed where she kicked it into the first step trying to climb the stairs, her vision obscured by the two-foot tall plant that Zyra had insisted on her taking home. Although they didn’t do gifts, somehow every year their aunt still gave each of Marcus’ children some sort of plant for them to try to raise. Or kill, in Katarina’s case; Not a single one of Zyra’s gifts ever survived far into the next year.

Footsteps drew her attention up to the top of the stairs, where Ashe stood with an expression that was partially concern and mostly confusion.

“Do you need a hand?” Without waiting for an answer, Ashe was already descending down the stairs. Katarina gratefully relinquished the leafy menace, following her roommate upstairs. 

Katarina flopped on the couch after she had filled the fridge with leftovers. She watched as Ashe assessed the placement of the plant by their patio window.

“Do you think that it will get enough sunlight there?” Ashe asked after a while.

Katarina snorted, “I dunno. Don’t ask me. My aunt is the crazy plant lady.” 

Ashe stepped back up to the plant to check the tag staked into the soil. “Cordyline Stricta.” She muttered to herself before pulling her phone out.

“That’s way too long of a name to remember, why don’t we call it Charley?” 

Ashe raised an eyebrow in mild amusement without looking up. “I take it you didn’t take it under your wing willingly.”

“Nope.” Katarina kicked back, propping her socked feet up on the coffee table to balance a plate on her lap. “Pie? We made too much.” 

Ashe eyed the extra plate of reheated pie Katarina had placed on the table.

“Don’t worry, it’s safe. My family wouldn’t let me anywhere near the oven.”

Ashed gnawed the inside of her cheek at Kat’s offer. Then suddenly, without saying another word in response, she walked off to climb the stairs. Katarina was left stupefied, wondering what the fuck she could have said to offend Ashe. Just when she thought they were finally not at each other’s throats, she had to deal with this unnecessarily hot and cold attitude. 

Katarina steeled her resolve. She put her plate on the table, ready to march upstairs and give Ashe a piece of her mind. Before she could even get to her feet, however, Ashe came back down the stairs, a large gift box cradled on her arms.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to run off so rudely, but I felt like now was as good a time as any to give you this.” There was a clipped awkwardness in Ashe’s voice that wasn’t normally there as she placed the box on Katarina’s lap, who now at this point was too surprised to do anything other than stare at it dumbfoundedly. It was wrapped in simple brown postage paper, immaculately so. Katarina wondered if Ashe had wrapped it herself or paid someone to do it like she did herself. Probably the former, knowing her roommate. 

Ashe sat down on the couch, next to Katarina, and picked up the plate of pie Katarina had left for her, muttering a quiet thanks without meeting her eyes. Was she… nervous?

Not able to stand the atmosphere of the room any longer, Katarina dug around her purse to find her folding knife she kept stored for emergencies. She flipped it open and began cutting open the wrapping in earnest. Katarina opened the box to reveal a coffee grinder and a few bags of coffee beans. 

Katarina looked up at Ashe to catch a brief expression of apprehension on her face; Eyebrows knit and pie fork clenched tightly between her front teeth, before she schooled her features again into neutrality.

“Your coffee grinder was looking a little old.”

Katarina felt at loss for words. It wasn’t like she had thought under no circumstances would Ashe get her a gift, it was just the thought of it never even crossed her mind in the first place. Ashe didn’t particularly seem like a festive person, in fact, now that she thought about it, Katarina had spotted Ashe reading in the living room during her flurry of activity to leave this morning. Katarina wondered for a moment if Ashe had even left the house at all today. Had she spent the holiday alone? And yet, despite that, she had gifted Katarina a present. Though the coffee brands were unfamiliar, the coffee grinder was a particularly well known one, and it was by no means cheap.

“I don’t know much about coffee, but I wasn’t sure what else would make a suitable gift.”

“Did you look up _‘best coffee grinders and coffee beans’_ or something?” Katarina snarked, not unkindly. To her absolute delight, the expression Ashe made, along with her rapidly reddening cheeks told her she was right on the money.

“I can still return it if you don’t want it.” The indignance in Ashe’s voice evident despite how much she seemed to be trying to suppress it. 

Katarina smirked, “They’re great. Thanks. You even got me dark roast.”

Ashe’s cheeks reddened further. “Well that was at least an easy thing for me to check based on what you already had at home.”

As much as watching Ashe squirm was incredibly fun, Katarina knew her turn to be embarrassed was coming up. _Just rip it off like a bandaid_ , she reassured herself, before reaching into her purse again to grab a wrapped package that she proceeded to present to Ashe. Or less presented, and more like flung into her hands like it was a hot potato.

Ashe thankfully didn’t say anything, even when she nearly fumbled the box, opening the packaging in blissful quiet. Though, Katarina couldn’t have been sure whether or not that was altogether better or worse since the silence was nearly just as insufferably awkward. 

Ashe let out a soft “Oh,” when she saw the hooped earrings in the box, small crystals set along the loops evoking the imagery of ice crystals tracing along their profiles. She lifted one out for a closer look.

“It’s a thanks, I guess, for helping me out. For the record, you can blame Cass if you hate them. She picked them out. I have a gift receipt.” Katarina couldn’t stop the sudden flow of words. Katarina frowned involuntarily as she berated herself inwardly for it. She didn’t really care whether Ashe liked it or not, so there wasn’t really a need to ramble on about it.

“They’re beautiful. I must say that I’m frankly surprised. This was rather unexpected from you.” 

Katarina bristled at the statement in spite of the truth in it. 

“I have my moments.” She muttered indignantly.

“That you do. Thank you.” Ashe smiled warmly as Katarina felt her face heating up now that the tables of embarrassment had been turned on her. 

Katarina got to her feet, gathering up the dirty dishes. “I’m going to clean up.” She announced; Anything to change the subject at hand.

Ashe straightened the throw cushions on the couch, a usual habit that signaled she was about to turn in for the night. The knowing smile on her face an annoying indicator that she probably saw right through Katarina’s dismissive bravado. Katarina chose to ignore it, brusquely making her way to the kitchen with the dishes.

“Oh and Katarina?” 

Katarina halted and turned. Ashe was standing at the bottom of the stairwell, infuriating smile still there, making Katarina’s stomach churn with unease.

“Merry Christmas.”

* * *

Every once in a while, Katarina remembered Ashe had a boyfriend. Since Cass’ party, Katarina had maybe seen Trynd a maximum of maybe once a month. At most she exchanged passing greetings with him, but otherwise the couple usually spent their time holed up in Ashe’s room. Occasionally Trynd would stay for dinner, in Ashe’s room of course, but thankfully never stayed the night. Even at the height of their animosity, Ashe at least was gracious enough of a housemate not to push those sorts of boundaries.

Today, Trynd had come by and picked Ashe up for lunch earlier in the day. Now a few hours later, she could hear them coming back into the house.

“Oh, nice silence.”

Katarina resisted the urge to turn her head to look at Trynd. She flicked the mic up on her headset to mute it, and responded without turning around.

“Thanks. You play?”

“Yeah. Trying to get out of plat three right now. Oh nice kill.” Katarina felt, rather than saw, Trynd lean his full weight over the back of the couch.

Katarina grunted in response as she got a sound headshot on the remaining enemy, ending the game with a satisfying end screen declaring her team the champions. “I’m trying to break into diamond right now.”

“Sweet! We should play sometime. I mainly play Gibraltar.” 

Katarina finally turned to look at Trynd, noting Ashe was nowhere to be seen at the moment. She liked him more than she ever expected she would. Despite appearances, he remained a polite guest whenever he was around, and he shared a surprising number of her interests. He also wasn’t as annoying as he appeared, which was a bonus.

“Sure.” She opened up her friends menu for him to punch in his account. 

Trynd pointed up the stairs after handing the controller back.

“I’m going to scoot, but I usually play on the weekends. Hit me up sometime!”

Katarina gave him a nod of acknowledgement, and queued up for another game as soon as he left. Three games later, while queueing up for a fourth, the doorbell rang. Not expecting any guests, Katarina ignored it.

Clearly undeterred, the person at the door rang the doorbell a second time, following it up with a heavy knock. Katarina glanced up the stairs, seeing or hearing no movement from above. Either Ashe was waiting for Katarina to get it, or did not hear it at all. She shuddered at the thought of that, not sure if she should go upstairs to interrupt who-knows-what to force Ashe to get the door.

Katarina reluctantly put aside her headset, getting up to investigate as the knocking grew louder and more impatient. She swung the door open to see the largest woman she had ever seen in her life, standing at the door frame, annoyance blatant in her expression. Katarina had thought Ashe was tall, but this woman easily matched Trynd in height. Her short sandy blonde hair nearly brushed the top of the door frame. She had a build to match—If ever Katarina were to picture an Amazoness, from now on, this woman would come to mind.

“Can I help you?” Katarina intoned, not allowing the woman to intimidate her. 

“Shit. Sorry, I’m looking for my cousin. Big tall ox-man. Drives that truck.” The woman pointed to Trynd’s truck in the driveway. Her voice deep and powerful, exactly as assumed from her appearance.

Katarina sucked a cheek in between her teeth, pondering what to do. All details pointed to the fact that this woman was clearly uninvited, else she would have been expected. Though, now that it was mentioned, the family resemblance, she could now see. There must have been something in the drinking water if everyone in their family was as gigantic as they were. In the end, she decided to step aside, allowing the woman to enter.

“No shoes.” Katarina stated flatly, as the woman promptly complied, kicking her boots off in a heap by the entrance mat. Katarina also didn’t miss the up-down surveying she was given, in the sizing-one-up type of way. 

“They’re in my housemates room.” Katarina led the way up the stairs, “Though I’m not sure if you want to interrupt them right now.”

The woman shot her a sour look, “Trust me. They’re not up to anything important.” She swung open Ashe’s bedroom door without knocking.

Katarina braced herself just in case, but the woman turned out to be correct; Ashe was seated on the foot of her bed, overlooking Trynd as he scrawled away at paperwork on the floor. Their pair looked up in shock, Trynd immediately pausing the music blasting from his phone speaker.

“Sejuani?” Trynd got to his feet, the confusion he exuded told Katarina that she was correct in her assumption that this was a surprise visit.

Sejuani, the now identified woman stalked into the room, pushing Tryndamere backwards slightly with a hand to his chest. He struggled to keep his balance as her presence filled the room.

“Tryndamere, you fucking asshole. Marriage? A fucking marriage? I don’t suppose there’s a reason I’m the last fucking person in the world to hear about this.”

“Sej, you know exactly why—” 

“Then you fucking know, of ALL PEOPLE, that it just had to be her. Didn’t you?” Sejuani threw a pointed finger in Ashe’s direction. 

Katarina looked over. Ashe for the most part had kept silent thus far, but on further observation, there was a seething disquiet about her that didn’t show on her face. At Sejuani’s comment, Ashe sucked in a quick breath between her teeth. She was _angry_ , and not in a way Katarina had ever seen before.

Katarina reeled mentally at the bombshell that had been dropped. Ashe and Trynd were fiancés and Trynd’s cousin was wholly against it for reasons unknown. Katarina realised at this time that she was bearing witness to an argument that she probably didn’t need to be around for. She instantly filed the new information away. Though the desire to kick Ashe out wasn’t as strong as it was before, she still dreamed of the days where she had a home all to herself.

“Look, we can talk about this. Can you calm down for a second?” Trynd was still trying to diffuse the situation in the worst way possible. Katarina knew from personal experience that asking an angry person to calm down was a surefire way to make them angrier. And by personal experience, she was most definitely almost always the angry person.

Without warning, Sejuani grabbed a handful of Trynd’s shirt, yanking him towards her. He nearly slipped on the papers spread out on the ground.

“Fuck you.” She hissed through clenched teeth.

Ashe instantly got to her feet, though not as tall as the other two, she drew every person’s attention to herself. “Sejuani. Put him down.”

There was an iciness to Ashe’s tone that chilled the room. Even Sejuani hesitated for a moment, before tightening her grip, staring Ashe back down. 

“And what are you going to do about it, bitch? Fuck you too.” Sejuani spat.

Katarina clapped her hands together loudly, halting the fight before it escalated any further. 

“If you guys are going to kill each other, that’s fine and dandy with me, but I’m going to butt in and say fuck you guys if you think this is going to happen in my house.”

For a moment, only heavy breathing and the slow ticking of a wall clock filled the room, marking every second that passed by as tension thrummed in the room. Finally Sejuani released her grip, allowing Trynd to straighten and dust himself off.

“Fine.” Sejuani took off down the stairs briskly. Ashe and Trynd looked at each other for a moment, sharing a look of understanding. Trynd followed down the flight of stairs first, leaving Ashe behind with Katarina.

Ashe closed her eyes, taking a deep slow breath through her nose; Exhaling with the weight of her soul behind it. Katarina watched her expectantly with an eyebrow raised. Ashe opened her mouth, but said nothing. It was strange as Katarina was used to the deliberateness that Ashe usually spoke with. Seeing her at a loss for words was new.

“Sorry.” She said at last, then she followed after the other two down the stairs. It wasn’t as if Katarina was expecting more of an explanation, but her curiosity was most definitely piqued. She descended the stairs and watched the entourage leave from the patio window, driving off in two separate cars. Perhaps she’d ask Ashe about it later when she got back.

Later turned out to be much further off than expected. The afternoon dragged into the night, and the night eventually passed as well. Katarina woke up the next morning, undisturbed from her sleep, meaning Ashe never ended up coming home in the evening. It wasn’t until she was halfway through her breakfast cereal that she heard the front door open, and light footsteps up the stairs.

Ashe walked by the kitchen door without noticing Katarina at first, it wasn’t until Katarina cleared her throat that Ashe turned around. She looked exhausted. Had they actually been out talking all night? How deep did this marriage drama run? Katarina had a plethora of questions, but they all died at the tip of her tongue as she could tell Ashe was in no mood to discuss any of it. Her body language was closed off, similar to how it was when they first met.

Ashe stared a moment, before breaking the eye contact, turning to head upstairs without another word.

* * *

Unlike all the other events in the latter half of the year, filled with wild shenanigans, New Years ended up passing by relatively peacefully by comparison. Cassiopeia still had a party, of course, but for once, Katarina enjoyed herself both without overindulging and getting into a fight. Time remained relentless, however, and soon it was time for classes to start up again.

Katarina met up with Sarah outside the lecture hall as they had planned. They usually tried to plan courses together as much as possible. Sarah was completing a major in criminal law, while Katarina took most of the same courses to appease her father for at least trying to go along the same path. This morning’s lecture and lab was an elective course they had chosen on feminist legal theory.

Katarina smirked, and she extended a finger to flick at the anchor necklace dangling at Sarah’s throat.

“Did you confess yet?”

This had started to become a standard greeting between the two. Needless to say, Sarah was none too pleased about it. Katarina had hoped something would happen between the two during Cass’ New Years party, but Sarah escorted Nami home early like she had last time, and had nothing juicy to share with her the next day.

“Learn how to stop being annoying yet?” Sarah riposted.

“I’m just saying that if I’m going to have to keep waiting around for you to stop being chicken shit, I’m going to end up pulling something like I did for Diana.”

“If you blow up my boat with fireworks, I’m going to murder you.”

Katarina shook her head in mock offense as she held the lecture hall doors open for Sarah. “Blow up _one_ truck…”

Seated and comfortable, waiting for the lecture to start, Sarah caught Katarina with most of what she had been up to during the break. Too cold for boating, she had gone snowboarding a few times, using a group excursion as an excuse to invite Nami to get togethers. 

“I mean, you’re being really forward at this point. She’s got to know.” Katarina reasoned.

“Hm… maybe…” Sarah trailed off, catching sight of something across the hall. “Hey… Isn’t that your house mate?”

Katarina followed Sarah’s gaze. There was no mistaking Ashe seated up near the front of the lecture hall, dressed prim and proper as usual in a plain blouse with a gray maxi skirt. Her white hair done up in an intentionally loose bun, free strands curled and impeccably placed.

“Huh. So it is.”

They never spoke of what had transpired the day Sejuani came over. After Ashe had taken a nap that morning, things returned to some semblance of the normal they had found. There was still an odd disconnect that Katarina felt in spite of it. Ashe was definitely holding herself more at a distance than she had the days leading up to the incident. Not that it was too much of a concern for Katarina. She was far past needing to worry herself with the matters of someone that was more of an acquaintance than a friend. She just needed to remind herself that, even if it did annoy her to be treated so temperamentally. 

It wasn’t uncommon for political science majors to take some overlapping law courses, however by this point, it seemed almost par for the course that somehow it would be Ashe showing up in one of her courses coincidentally.

Of fucking course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I made Katarina play Apex. I don't know anything about it lmao, I just wanted her to play a competitive shooter, and I had to pick one that my friends played so that they could explain it to me.
> 
> Also out of season Christmas scene, haha. The passing of time in the fic just happened to work out this way, so Happy New Year, I guess. LMAO.
> 
> Sorry this took so long, a lot of happenings in my life right now. Hopefully the next one won't take as long. Once again, I am terrible at replying but thanks for all the kind words, everybody.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This really did take me a long time. I've been very busy, I apologise. Rest assured, I haven't abandoned it. I've been chipping away at it whenever I had the time to do so.

“Do you seriously take only gym selfies?”

Katarina glanced over the top of her laptop, giving Sarah a dirty glare.

“I should have some other pictures. Keep looking… and don’t girls like gym selfies?”

Sarah snorted. “Okay, Jared 19.”

“Dude. Are you going to actually be helpful about this?” Katarina held her hand out over the cafe table. “If not, you can give me my phone back and I’ll figure this out myself.”

Sarah held Katarina’s phone out of reach. “Fine, fine! I think I have some photos of you that we can use. I’ll just crop out other people, no one likes guessing which one you are in a group.”

As Sarah continued to go on about the dos and don’ts of dating app etiquette, Katarina began to wonder just what in the world she had gotten herself into. In her deciding that it was finally time to move on from Riven, Katarina _also_ decided she would at least make an attempt at trying to meet some girls. So she unearthed her old Tinder account she used to find rebound flings back when she had first broken up. This time, trying to make an earnest attempt had her enlisting Sarah to help her actually make her profile look less like a fuck boy’s.

The exchange would be Katarina would temporarily ease up on the ribbing for Sarah’s efforts. So here they were at a local cafe, giving Katarina’s profile a facelift, while trying to do some assignments.

“What’s going on with you?”

“Hm?” Katarina knew exactly what Sarah was asking, but she still played dumb.

“You’ve been hung up on Riven for the last three years.” Sarah’s gray eyes bore holes in Katarina’s defenses. “And suddenly she shows up again, and you’re trying to meet people. I don’t want to do this if you’re just trying to cope in a toxic manner.”

Katarina blew a loose strand of hair out of her eyes. “It’s not. At least I don’t think so.” Introspection into her own feelings was never her strong suit, and that was a whole can of worms she was not willing to unpack. 

Sarah looked rightfully unconvinced. “I mean you can cope however you want, I’m not going to stop you, but I do reserve the right to tell you when something is a bad idea.”

“Riven came by my house.”

“Excuse me, what?” Katarina felt a twinge of warmth at Sarah’s protective concern. “When?!”

“About a month ago, I think. During exams.” Sarah stayed silent, giving Katarina room to gather her thoughts and continue. “She said she was just _‘checking up’_ on me, whatever that means.”

“Did she want to make up and get back together?”

“No… Or at least… I don’t know.” 

“If she asked, would you have?”

“No!!” Katarina exclaimed, aghast. As heartbroken as she had been, she had enough sense not to get back with someone that had treated her so callously. She would probably have been even angrier if Riven had proposed the idea. “I don’t know… I guess when I saw her I kind of realised I didn’t actually miss her anymore. I’ve been holding onto memories and the idea of what we used to be for so long, and that held me back so many ways. Seeing her really hammered that home for me.”

“Good. Fuck her.” Sarah nodded in approval.

“I thought that wasn’t the plan.”

“You’re not supposed to use my own schtick against me.” Sarah pouted playfully and handed Katarina back her phone.

Sarah hadn’t changed her profile too much, mainly changing her photos to more flattering candids, one notable one being the time she’d shown off her knife juggling skills at a party. The profile bio had been changed from simply displaying her age and location and now matched to read, _“Protip: Don’t take ‘Keep your eyes on the knives’ too literally.”_

“Dude, you make me sound like a bumbling fool that dropped a knife on her face.”

Sarah shook her head, “You asked me for my help, so trust me. Girls are good at reading between the lines. This tells people you’re funny, but edgy enough to own and juggle knives. You come off as a badass in most your photos, you just have to balance it out so that you at least _seem_ approachable.”

Katarina didn’t like it but conceded nevertheless. She was going to have to trust Sarah on this one, otherwise there would have been no point in asking her in the first place. She didn’t have much faith in making any substantial connections on a shallow dating app, but there was no harm in at least trying to make an attempt. Besides, she was down for some casual flings should those pan out.

Sarah scooted her seat around the tiny cafe table to put herself next to Katarina, having taken Katarina’s begrudging grunt as approval.

“Come on, let me help swipe!”

* * *

The steam filled the bathroom as Katarina stepped out of the shower, emphasizing just how hot she took them. January offered very little improvement in the frigid weather department.

She was halfway through her post shower routine when a knock came to her bedroom door. Two short and curt raps that, even if Ashe wasn’t the only other person in the house, she would have been able to identify as hers.

Only half dressed, Katarina wrapped a towel around her chest and stepped out of the bathroom to open her bedroom door—One of the best benefits of having the master bedroom was the ensuite bathroom she got with it.

Ashe stood at the threshold of her bedroom door, arms full of clothes. The expression on her face journeyed from annoyance, into perplexion, and eventually to surprise.

Katarina smirked. Maybe it was her officially putting herself back on the market, but her self confidence was through the roof lately. Not that she was ever much of a modest person to begin with. While she wasn’t exactly… _winning_ in the height department, her consistent workouts definitely did her favours that the towel around her chest couldn’t even begin to hide. In short (that wasn’t a short joke), Katarina was hot and she knew it.

Whether or not Ashe’s shock was attributed to her acknowledgement of that fact, or to her prudishness, Katarina’s ego inflated three extra sizes. She leaned on her door frame, fully aware that she wasn’t keeping the best grip on her towel.

“What’s up.” Her grin grew wider. “Cat’s got your tongue?”

At the joke-slash-pun-slash-innuendo, Ashe’s face blushed a bright pink, her back stiffening in indignation. 

“Your laundry.” Her tone was clipped with annoyance.

“Thanks, but they’re clean. You could have left it where it was.”

Ashe’s eyebrow twitched. “On the couch? Where people sit?”

“I mean, I was going to move it later.”

“Sarah’s going to be here any minute now.” Ashe’s tone struggled to remain even, while Katarina enjoyed every moment of riling her up. It was hard to tell whether Katarina was just getting better at parsing Ashe’s emotions, or she was becoming better at getting under her skin. Either way, today, she was enjoying it.

“Yeah, and she’s seen me throw up in the bathroom at homecoming. She doesn’t care.” Long story short, they had swiped a bottle of vodka from her father’s drinks cabinet, and used it to show off to the rest of their year after smuggling it into the gymnasium.

“We’re not here to relive dumb teenage decisions, we have a project to do.” Katarina made no move to relieve Ashe of the burden of clothing she was waving up and down to emphasise her point. “We need room and your clothes should have been put away after you finished laundry instead of taking up all the sitting surfaces of a common space.”

“We could have just set up the folding table.” Ashe looked like she was going to burst a vein. “But if you insist, you can just toss my clothes on my bed next time if it bothers you so much. I would also take those off your hands right now, but as you can see, I’m a little bit… _indisposed.”_

To emphasise her point, Katarina let her towel slip, just a smidge, as she moved just out the way. Ashe’s face flushed redder in a display that was likely equal parts embarrassment and anger. Some days, Katarina just loved being a little shit. 

Instead of retorting back as expected, Ashe breezed right by Katarina, eyes trained angrily forward. Still, Katarina caught the slight involuntary twitch of Ashe‘s arm as it brushed passed her. Ashe getting flustered was beginning to prove more fun than expected. She vaguely wondered if Ashe and Trynd got any action at all, but she shelved the thoughts before she could think too deeply about it. Gross. No need to know.

Ashe dumped the clothes onto Katarina’s unmade bed. While her body language exuded anger, curious eyes surveyed the room, taking in the decor. Katarina had always wondered if Ashe had ever entered her room while she was out of the house, like she had done to her on occasion. Not that she cared too much. She didn’t really have much to hide. However, her reaction and curiosity seemed too genuine to be a front. At the very least, it looked like Ashe had respected her privacy. Katarina almost felt bad for invading her room on a few occasions. 

Ashe seemed particularly interested in the glass-paneled cabinet that housed the more antique portion of Katarina’s knife collection. Well. It was either that or the old poster of the girl-band she was particularly enamoured with in high school right next to it. She wasn’t embarrassed of it normally, but somehow the realisation that Ashe now knew this unsettled her. Katarina’s feigned natural indifference, not wanting to lose the bravado she has gained in this argument.

“Next time you can just come in and just dump things in my room if it’s bothering you so much.”

Ashe turned on Katarina, fury renewed. “Oh I’m sorry, I believe I had our living arrangements confused. I was under the impression that I was your _housemate_ , not your personal maid.” 

After countless arguments, Katarina had come to learn that Ashe’s anger didn’t burn bright and hot like her own, but instead held a frigidity that was sure to send shivers down most people’s spines. Katarin refused to be most people, no matter how intimidating Ashe could be.

“I’m not the one who has a problem here, princess. I’m just offering you a solution.” Katarina shrugged. “Like I said, you can worry all you want about messes while having guests, but Fortune doesn’t give a shit.”

Ashe opened her mouth to retort but was cut off by the loud buzzing of Katarina’s phone on the nightstand. Katarina strode over to check the display. 

“Speak of the devil. She’s here.” Katarina motioned to the door. “I would let her in but I kind of need to get some clothes on. But she can wait if you want to stay for the show, I don’t mind.”

Katarina ended the last statement with a cheeky wink, eliciting an excellent reaction as her housemate flushed a darker shade of red. Ashe huffed, blowing a stray strand out of her eyes, but turned to leave without putting in another word, leaving Katarina to her own devices. She took her time getting dressed, knowing it would just annoy Ashe even more. By the time she finally made her way downstairs, Ashe and Sarah were already seated on the couch, laptop and several books splayed open across the coffee table in front of them. 

“God, you take such long showers.” Sarah ignored Katarina flipping her still damp hair dramatically and handed the laptop and a blessedly welcome mug of coffee over as she took a seat next to her. “You can look for case studies.”

If it was up to her, she wouldn’t have ever picked Ashe as a first choice for a group project member. However, as soon as their TA had announced that the class was to separate themselves into threes for their first group project of the semester, Katarina could have kicked Sarah for immediately flagging down Ashe to join their group. To her dismay, Ashe surprisingly agreed. Sarah eventually placated Katarina after class by reasoning that if there was anyone in a classroom of strangers that would pull their own weight, they would at least know Ashe was the most likely candidate to do so.

True enough, now that the animosity of their recent argument had been put aside, Ashe really was an invaluable team member. She was able to quote direct passages of the course readings (which Katarina was admittedly already slightly behind on) to help find the case studies and articles that would best represent the model they were assigned to report on. Not to mention with the help of her impeccable organisation skills meant that in three short hours, the trio had enough to get quite a bit of headway on their report paper.

“I’m pooped.” Sarah sighed, closing the textbook on her lap decisively. “Wanna order Chinese?”

“Sure. Order whatever from that place down the street and we can share.”

“Ashe?” Sarah quirked an eyebrow in question at Ashe, phone poised to dial.

“I’m not picky.” Ashe hardly looked up from the print-outs she was nose deep in.

Sarah took Ashe’s response in stride and proceeded to dial in an order for pick up. Having done that, instead of diving back into work, she scooted from the spot she occupied on the floor to perch herself on the couch armrest next to Katarina.

“So…? Meet anyone yet?”

Katarina groaned, making a big show about being annoyed but pulled out her phone anyway to show Sarah, who was already leaning in to get a better view.

“Nothing much really happening yet. I have to initiate conversation 95% of the time, but so far it’s just chatting.”

Sarah reached over and tapped out of the convo list, back into the main screen. She swiped quickly past a few profiles, humming and haaing as she delved into and evaluated the profiles of a few more girls before ultimately swiping left on them. Katarina let it happen. She wasn’t too invested in what might happen out of the app, and she trusted Sarah’s judgement anyway.

“Oh she’s cute!” Sarah clicked into the profile, giving them a better look at the girl posing in what must have been a professionally taken photo. Long angular features framed by dark hair seeming to have been dyed a shade of purple that reflected in the stage lights casted on the girl. She wore a beautiful dark red cheongsam wrapped around what was clearly a dancer’s powerful body. “Irelia Xian. Hobbies are Chinese dance and hiking. I’ll give her a yes.” 

“She is pretty cute. Go ahead.” Katarina let Sarah carry on with her fun and swiped on her behalf. Passively watching the pictures go by.

“Hey. Isn’t that your neighbour?”

Katarina snapped her attention back into focus, expecting to see her tall French neighbour with the legs. Instead an unrecognisable woman’s portrait smiled back at her. She had her pink hair fashionably styled, kind-of like an e-girl’s.

“Is she my neighbour? I’ve never seen her before.” Katarina never paid too much attention to the people who lived around her, despite how closely the townhouse units were built.

“Yeah. She lives right next to you. I saw her leaving the house one of the days I came over for D&D.” Sarah clicked into her profile. A quick scroll through her photos showed quite a few of them to be taken with a man much taller than herself, blonde hair styled in a way that rivalled an anime protagonist’s. If anything, it matched the girl well. “Xayah… Ew, she’s another one of those ‘looking for a third for a threesome with her boyfriend’ types. Gross.”

Katarina’s eyes darted over to glance at Ashe. Despite the lack of overt reaction, if the hint of pink at her ears were anything to go by, Ashe had the exact same thoughts running through her head—They now had the identities of the extremely loud couple they had overheard that night Katarina had gotten arrested. It was one thing to have experienced that, and another to have mutually suffered with another person and now have a face to put to the… sounds. In spite of the recognition, Ashe refused to meet Katarina’s eyes, who in turn looked back down to the phone she held between herself and Sarah.

“Yeah, hard pass.” Katarina took the liberty to swipe left herself before Sarah tried any funny business. 

“I thought you were hoping to find a hook-up?”

“I said maybe if it _happened_ , not that I was actively looking for one. Plus, I am _not_ going to be a third for some kinky straight couple.”

“Okay well, if you match with that dancer girl, I think you should give it a go.”

“Maybe.” Katarina answered after a pause for consideration. “I wouldn’t say no.”

“Are you guys just going to chat all day?” Papers rustled as Ashe flipped the pages she was looking through closed and stacked them neatly. 

Katarina resisted the urge to scoff. “Chill, princess. We’ve done enough work for today.”

It was the second time today that Katarina had called Ashe by the nickname, and judging from the twitch of her eyebrow, she wasn’t overly fond of it. Ashe stood suddenly, reminding a sitting Katarina just how tall she was. However, instead of saying anything, she walked right past the couch. 

Katarina turned to track her, calling at her retreating back. “Where are you going?”

“To get some much needed reprieve.” Ashe turned to address the room, “I’ll go pick up the food while I’m at it.” And down the stairs and out of sight, she went.

Sarah and Katarina glanced at each other, sharing a knowing look. It wasn’t until they heard the sound of the front door click shut that either of them said anything.

“God, she can be such a _bitch_ .” Katarina groaned, throwing her head back, and running her hands through her hair. “We can’t _all_ be no-life losers that have nothing else going for them outside of academia. It’s a wonder that she even has a boyfriend.”

Sarah got up from her perch to take the recently vacated spot next to Katarina. 

“I dunno, I can see it. She is pretty hot.”

Katarina scowled and smacked Sarah’s arm, “Why do you always have to take her side?”

“I’m not taking her side, I’m just saying it as it is. Maybe if you didn’t hate each other so much, you’d agree with me.” Katarina wasn’t sure if something must have shown on her face but Sarah’s stare intensified. “Though, something tells me you don’t hate each other as much as you make it seem. I think she’s grown on you.”

The smugness in Sarah's voice got right under Katarina’s skin. It was probably the intention, but the knowledge of it didn’t stop the heat from rising in her chest in frustration.

“We literally just had an argument today about laundry. All she fucking does is nag me.”

“For someone that hates you so much, she sure did a good job on making your cuppa just the way you like it.”

Katarina’s gaze involuntarily flicked towards the now empty mug on the coffee table. Huh. She thought Ashe knew nothing about coffee.

“It’s just black coffee, it’s not that fucking hard to make.”

Sarah tapped a slim finger to her cheek in exaggerated thought, “I don’t think so. There’s something odd about you two lately. Like you guys almost get along.”

Katarina never did tell Sarah what happened the night things had shifted between her and Ashe. She had brushed off her late-night call as an accidental drunk butt-dial, and Sarah, having been on the receiving end of those multiple times throughout their friendship, didn’t question it any further. At this point she hadn’t told anyone else about her budding friendship(?) with Ashe. As much as she could be considered barely tolerable now, there was still no doubt in her mind that she wanted Ashe out, and the house all to herself again. She still had to figure out the logistics of exactly how to make that happen. Best not to complicate anything in the process. Plus, she would never hear the end of it from her friends for suddenly changing her tune after months of complaining. So the fact that Sarah—curse her attentiveness—caught on was a little aggravating.

“Eh. At this point I’ve resigned myself to the fate my dad left me. At least her boyfriend’s a bro.” Katarina deftly manoeuvred the conversation into more comfortable territory. 

“Oh yeah, Man-bun. I’m surprised I haven’t seen him around here.”

“He’s actually not over that often, surprisingly. Actually, that reminds me…” Katarina straightened in her seat as she remembered what had transpired the last time Trynd was around. “He’s actually her fiancé now. They’re engaged apparently.”

Sarah’s mouth formed a small “o” of vague interest. “Congrats to her, I guess?”

“Get this, though. Guess how I found out? Some lady knocks on the door saying she’s Trynd’s cousin and she chews the two of them out for their engagement. Like full on yelling. And she’s a fucking giant, I swear to god Trynd’s family has to be descended from titans.”

“What the fuck?”

“Yeah, and she obviously _hates_ Ashe’s guts for some reason.”

“You didn’t find out why?”

“I kicked them out when she nearly threw Trynd.”

“I wonder if you can find something out to get the house to yourself again.” Sarah pulled her phone from her pocket, “What was her name?”

“Sejuani. Why?”

“I’m going to look her up on Facebook. Duh.”

“Without a last name?”

Sarah gave Katarina a look. “How many Sejuanis do _you_ know?”

Touché.

Within seconds, Sarah found a result, turning her phone to show Katarina. Sejuani Stenberg. The woman in the profile picture was unmistakable—even though the photo was taken from a short distance away, the build of the hiker in the photo matched Sejuani’s Amazonian physique. The short straw coloured hair atop a smiling sunglassed face also matched perfectly from what Katarina remembered. 

“Jesus Christ, you weren’t kidding. She’s huge!” Sarah took her phone back, and tapped away at the screen. “Looks like her profile settings are pretty private. Nothing really interesting to see without adding her.”

“I’m not adding her.” Katarina snapped quickly before Sarah could suggest it.

“No, but you could add him.” Sarah turned her phone back around, a different profile on the screen this time. Tryndamere Stenberg. His hair was down in his profile photo—far too silky for it to be fair if you asked her,—but otherwise there was nothing of too much of interest to note from the corporate headshot. “Clearly there’s some history going on between these three that might be fun to look into. I was gonna check if you could add Ashe too, but—”

“No.”

“Calm your tits. She didn’t even have one, I looked already.” Sarah thought for a second. “Do you even have any of her contact information? Like her number?”

“Why the fuck would I ever need to call her?” Sans the evening emergency where she _actually_ had to get in contact with Ashe. Which, of course, she intentionally did not mention.

Sarah looked exasperated but didn’t say anything further on the subject. She held her hand out, “Give me your phone so I can add Trynd for you.”

“I can do it myself, thanks.”

Sarah’s face was rife with skepticism. “You say that, but you’re never going to do it. Don’t you want to dig up some dirt? This could be fun!”

“Fun for you. Awkward for me. We just play video games together.”

“Aren’t you even remotely curious?” Sarah pouted. 

“Ugh… fine. Fine! I’ll add him.” Katarina sent the request, showing Sarah the screen as she did. “There. Happy now?”

Sarah looked like she was about to answer back, but was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and closing again. The pair glanced at each other and scrambled to put their phones away like school children caught texting.

“Welcome back~” Sarah greeted with a melodic lilt and a halfwave when Ashe rounded the corner back into the landing, take-out bags occupying both hands. “Oh by the way, I was wondering if we should exchange numbers just in case. You know, for the project and all?”

From where Ashe was standing, she wouldn’t have been able to see the swift kick Katarina delivered to Sarah’s shin. 

“Oh sure. I can give it to you in a second.” Ashe seemed to be in better spirits than before she had popped out, seemingly having put aside her annoyance with the two of them for now. She headed into the kitchen with the food. Sarah and Katarina both took this as a cue to finally get up from the couch to help set up dinner. Katarina wondered all the way how her life, despite her best efforts, turned out so dramatic.

* * *

When Katarina entered the entrance foyer, she could hear the muffled sounds of her TV upstairs. Katarina sighed as she stepped out of her boots, haphazardly placing them next to Ashe’s meticulously lined up heels. 

“It’s the middle of midterms, so no. I’m not going to any shindigs you want to drag me to tonight.” Katarina called out without so much as a greeting while climbing the stairs. Somehow the first few weeks of school had flown by in a blur, and it was already midterms week, which meant catching up on all the readings she had neglected thus far. No matter how many times this happened, she still never learned her lesson.

“Shh!” Cassiopeia shushed Katarina with a finger held up in her direction without turning around on the couch. “Brad’s about to propose to Melissa.”

Katarina never understood why Cass liked to watch bad soaps so much. It was apparently in a so-bad-they’re-good way, but Katarina herself preferred her B-level entertainment to be of the horror variety. She sat down on the couch next to Cass anyway. Strangely enough, her sister didn’t look like she was dressed for the club today; In her patterned slacks, figure hugging v-necked sweater, and perky silk neck scarf, she looked more like she’d just come from class. Though Katarina wouldn’t doubt she probably had a change of clothes with her anyway.

“Do we like Brad?”

“No. He’s cheating on Melissa with her sister Valerie.”

“Okay, yikes. How about Melissa? Do we like her?”

“She’s alright? She’s kind of indecisive though. She can’t decide between Brad or Eduardo, her best friend. She’s also been schtupping Carson, her pool guy.”

Katarina watched the dramatic scene unfold, as stereotypical picture-perfect Brad gets down on one knee. The proposal is suddenly interrupted by another man rushing into the scene, inexplicably shirtless, also getting down on one knee.

“That’s Eduardo. He’s kind of one of those annoying nice-guy best friends.”

“Okay, then who _are_ we rooting for to end up with her? Carson?”

“Oh no. Carson’s been wrestling with his feelings for James, Melissa’s brother.”

Katarina’s head swam from all the names, another reason among many as to why she didn’t share this particular interest with her sister.

“So are we rooting for Carson and James, then?”

“Yeah. I suppose.” Cassiopeia glanced over, making eye contact with Katarina. “Makes me wonder. How do someone really figure out they’re gay?”

Katarina raised an eyebrow. Cass had never asked her that before. She had accepted Katarina’s own coming out in stride, without so much of a bat of an eyelash when Kat had told her. Just a simple ‘Tell me something I don’t know’ before carrying on like she had just been told the current weather conditions. That had been that.

“Is this about that guy? Are you actually hung up on him?”

Cass blinked, “Which guy?”

“The one from the archery tournament?”

Cassiopeia furrowed her eyebrows, looking up as trying to recall. “Oh… him. No, this isn’t about him.”

“Is this about Talon, then? I thought we agreed to leave him be to sort out whatever issues he’s got.” Cass had, on several occasions, tried to sus out Talon’s sexuality. All she got for her efforts was annoyance that her normally keen skills were not working.

“No, it’s not.”

Katarina’s gaze burned into Cass’ eyes. “Fuck… is this about _me_?!” Equal parts panic and anger rose up in her chest. “Are you trying to set me up?!”

Cassiopeia’s palm collided against her sister’s knee with a sound smack, stopping Katarina’s angry tirade before it was given voice.

“Not everything is about you. Jesus Christ, could you fucking shut up for one fucking second?” The anger took Katarina aback. It wasn’t how Cass tended to react to things. Mostly annoyance and sharp wit, but an actual outburst was more than out of character. It was enough to shock Katarina out of her anger and only then that she noticed, with unclouded judgement, the guarded apprehension in her sister’s eyes. Realisation finally dawned on her.

“Wait wait wait... WHAT.” She sputtered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

Clearly not the answer Cass was looking for. The apprehension she carried heightened into full blown panic as her eyes widened. 

“I can’t be the gay cousin. _You’re_ the gay cousin!” Cassiopeia exclaimed as she abruptly stood up and began to pace. She was no longer looking at Katarina, her hand running absentmindedly through her hair in a display of panic that Katarina hadn’t seen a long time. “What am I even supposed to do now? Tell everybody I was wrong my whole life?”

Katarina grabbed her sister’s arm to stop her from pacing, then guided her to sit back down as gently as she could manage. Her other hand swiped the remote off the couch to shut the TV off.

“Take a deep breath and calm down for a minute.” Katarina stood back up, “I’m going to make us some coffee, and then you can tell me from the beginning.”

Cass nodded wordlessly in response.

Katarina’s own mind wandered as she prepared their drinks. For as long as she’d known, Cass had been entirely and irrevocably boy crazy. Anything that would shake up that fundamental fact would be essentially turning something everyone had been so assured about right up on its head. 

When she returned, Cass looked visibly calmer as she gratefully accepted the proffered mug of caffeine. She still didn’t say anything, and instead affixed her gaze to the murky liquid she slowly swirled as she turned her mug in contemplation. Katarina was far more accustomed to being on the receiving end of interrogation while others were tasked with the endeavour of pulling teeth from her, as such she had no idea where to start. Thankfully Cass finally seemed to muster up the courage to speak first.

“So… I met someone.”

“A girl?” 

“No, a fucking unicorn.” Cass scoffed while rolling her eyes. “Yes, a girl.”

“And…? Clearly something happened because you of all people don’t just see a pretty girl and decide you might like them. Did you make out with her?” Katarina spurred her sister on for more information. “Come to think of it… I swear you’ve made out with girls before too.”

Cassiopeia ran a finger absentmindedly along the rim of the mug as she blew a slow breath to break up the rising steam. “We fucked.”

Katarina nearly dropped her mug, only just barely managing not to scald herself. “And how do you feel about that?” She managed out, trying her darnedest to not sound like a quacked up shrink.

“It was for fun at first. I had just broken up with Zed and was looking for a good time. If anything, she’s… intriguing.”

Intriguing was definitely a strong word when it came to Cassiopeia. She considered most of her relationships akin to games, and while she seemed undoubtedly attracted to them, she did tend to find most of them boorish and uninteresting. Even the ones that at least matched her in intellect never seemed up to par in other aspects. Of the boyfriends that Katarina _did_ meet, not one of them had seemed serious.

“Wait… ‘at first’?” Katarina air-quoted to emphasise her point. “This happened more than once?! Also, now I need to know. Have you fucked a woman before this?”

“We’ve met a few times now, but before this? No. There was a threesome that one of my exes wanted to have, but that never ended up actually happening before I dumped him.” Cassiopeia seemed to consider this for a moment. “I mean, I’ve made out with plenty of women before, but it was more about the attention that came from it. Granted, women generally tend to be better kissers, but I never really felt anything before from it.”

“How about with guys?”

“Largely the same. I guess I’ve never had particularly strong feelings about them either, but I guess with men, it mostly felt… right?” The upwards lilt at the end of her sentence painted a better picture of her current mental processes than her actual words did. Despite dating and sleeping with men feeling more in-line with what she felt like she wanted, this girl she fucked clearly had her questioning all that. “I don’t know… I mean I’ve always at least found them physically attractive, I guess.”

“Okay then. I mean I guess it’s safe to say you still probably like them. How about this girl? Do I know her? What is she like?” Trying to help Cassiopeia untangle her feelings was new. If anything, Katarina’s own self discovery was far less complex. It was something she had just always _known._

“I wouldn’t say you know her… but you’ve met.” Not very useful information. Katarina had met a fair amount of Cassiopeia’s friends without getting to know a large majority of them. “Do you remember that bartender on my birthday?”

Katarina had to wrack her brains for the memory, she had already nearly forgotten where they had gone, between all the other swanky venues they had been in the past. She could vaguely recall the bartender from _Charmed_ ; Warm brown skin and a husky voice came to mind. Katarina nodded slowly.

“The one I bribed to play you a Happy Birthday song?”

“That’s the one. Long story short, we’ve... ‘ _met up’_ a couple times since.”

“Should I stalk her on social media?” Katarina suddenly remembered she had yet to tell Cass about her recent discoveries. Tryndamere had added her back but she hasn’t had the time to really do any digging lately. If anything, Cass would be able to find out more, but this would be something that she would perhaps bring up another time when her sister wasn’t going through a crisis.

“Don’t bother. I already did.” Cassiopeia took a slow sip off her coffee before continuing. “She’s bad news, is what I think.”

“Oh?”

“She’s clever. Too clever. I don’t think I can trust her very much. She’s a bit of a snake.”

“Birds of feather, you know?” The ribbing slipped out reflexively, and Katarina winced at her own lack of social graces. It was a coping mechanism, if anything. Thankfully, Cass seemed to take it in stride and only lightly punched her in the arm for the comment.

“You’re all too right, though. She plays games like I do, and I think it’s entirely possible I could actually get burned by her.”

“Stop seeing her then.”

“That’s the thing...” Cass turned to meet Katarina’s eyes again, a confidence had returned to her own pale greens that put Katarina’s heart more at ease to see. “That intrigue is enough that I sort of want to keep playing with fire.”

Katarina’s eyebrows raised in surprise, admittedly she was a little impressed by Cass’ approach to her own feelings. She probably didn’t need to worry as much about herself as she was. “Is she that good in bed?”

Cassiopeia’s lips pursed with blatant annoyance. “Unfortunately so.”

Katarina let out a short bark of laughter, “Then don’t worry so much about the label. Clearly you’re enjoying whatever game it is you have going on with her, why do you need to worry about defining anything? Enjoying your time with one girl doesn’t define your whole sexuality, and neither will any that come after. You can figure it out as you go.”

She took one of Cass’ hands in her own in what she hoped was a supportive gesture. Though her expression was pensive, Cass squeezed back gently.

“Thanks. I guess I have a lot to think about.”

“I don’t know how you got that from what I said. Clearly I meant don’t think about it too much.” 

“At least one person in this family has to use their brains.”

Katarina tossed a throw pillow in Cassiopeia’s face.

* * *

There was nothing more annoying than a phone buzzing against a surface in the morning. Especially after having hit snooze three times already. Katarina immediately regretted having stayed up late the night before, but she only had herself to blame for not keeping up with course material until she had to cram it all last minute. She especially wanted to sleep more, but considering the time, she’d be lucky to have enough time to get a coffee in.

Katarina trudged down the stairs, blearily going through the motions of her morning routine. All the while, hyper aware of the fact that she had a midterm looming an hour away. Which, now that she was thinking about it, was highly alarming since she could barely remember any of the material she had stayed up to read last night. 

Footsteps, loud and frantic, shook Katarina from her panicked mental review. She took a peek out the kitchen door, just in time to see Ashe skidding onto the living room landing in a flurry of black and white. Ashe plopped down on the arm of the couch, rushing to pull on the stockings she had been clutching in one hand. Katarina watched bemused at the sight for a moment, this being perhaps the first time she’d seen her roommate so out of sorts and disheveled—Well, as much as she could be by Ashe standards—blouse only half done up, and hair in slight disarray. Eventually her still booting-up brain stopped focussing on Ashe’s outfit and more on the fact that they shared a class today, and therefore a midterm as well.

At no point until now, did it occur to her that she had no idea how Ashe got to school. Ashe was almost always out of the house before she was, and home later in the evening as well. She had no car, Katarina knew that much at least. The most likely conclusion was that she went everywhere via public transport. (That, or Trynd could have been a possible chauffeur, but Katarina didn’t see Trynd around often enough for that to be a regular occurrence).

Kat watched in mild amusement while Ashe finally managed to wrestle her stockings and proceeded to tap rapidly on her phone. Clearly, she was too preoccupied to notice Katarina’s presence in the doorway. 

“Someone’s up late.”

Ashe finally looked up. The corner of Katarina’s lip curled at the annoyance on her face.

“I appreciate the observation.” Ashe promptly looked back down to her phone. Katarina walked up to take a closer look over Ashe’s shoulder, spying a ride sharing app.

“I’m almost insulted you didn’t ask me.” Katarina teased. Ashe looked back up at her, an expression of confused distrust etched on her face. While Katarina knew exactly why Ashe probably didn’t see her as the most generous of people, she couldn’t help but feel the slightest twinge of annoyance at the likely consideration that she would be selfish enough to leave for school on her own when they were literally set to attend the same exam. (Again, she wasn’t _completely_ heartless). Still she kept a straight face as she swept past Ashe to start climbing the stairs, turning back to look over her shoulder partway up. “I’ll be changed in ten minutes.”

Part of her wanted to mess with Ashe some more by taking her time, but she wasn’t going to sabotage herself in the process. Ten minutes passed and she was pulling out of her garage with Ashe in her passenger seat. Surprisingly, despite the silence, it was nowhere near as awkward as she had expected it to be. Though, she supposed, with their first car ride being from a police station as a comparison point, that was to be expected.

After a few minutes of driving, Ashe dug an eyeshadow palette from her purse and pulled down the passenger mirror. Katarina watched from the corner of her eye with muted interest as Ashe began applying her makeup. Somehow, despite being in a moving car, she managed to do it all without even the slightest waver of a brush. Eventually as Ashe began to draw on eyeliner, Katarina finally had enough and broke the silence.

“How the hell are you doing that?”

“I have a very steady hand.” Ashe replied calmly, proving her point by continuing to draw a perfect wing.

“I swear to god, that’s witchcraft.” Katarina glanced over again. She could never explain why, but there was always something captivating in the way girls put on eyeliner and mascara. She tore her eyes away and back onto the road. “It’s just a midterm, why bother?”

It wasn’t as if Katarina herself didn’t wear makeup. In fact, she was pretty good at dolling herself up some days. To her, halfway through a semester and first thing in the morning with no other plans after class, it just seemed like a massive waste of time and energy.

“I pride myself in being presentable.” Ashe put the finishing touches on her lipstick, wiping away a stray smudge with a finger before capping the product, and lifting the mirror back into place. Katarina couldn’t really find much disagreement with that. “I also have more than just the one class today.”

“How many classes are you even taking?”

“Six.”

“If I said I was surprised you were such a keener, I’d be lying.” At the next red light, Katarina looked back over. Ashe had her elbow rested on the window ledge, head resting against her hand casually, and eyes trained directly at Kat. “Is that why you always come home at like two?”

Ashe furled her brows. “Do I wake you?”

“I’m a light sleeper.” 

“Oh.” Ashe’s expression deepened into one of concern. Katarina wondered how much of it was genuine. There was something about it that made her stomach flip with unease. “I’m sorry. I can try to study at home more, it’s just easier for me to focus at the library.”

“It’s not a big deal. I can fall asleep easily, but I’m not gonna stop you. I don’t really care what you do.” Katarina turned her attention back on the road as the light changed. “Why do you need to take so many courses anyway?”

“I’m doing a double major.” That was the answer Katarina expected. “Polisci and Law.”

“That’s kind of like Cass. She’s doing Polisci and Business.”

“That doesn’t shock me. She’s a very bright girl.” 

Katarina felt her usual annoyance at the appreciation of Cassiopeia’s academic prowess. It wasn’t as if she was jealous of Cass. That wasn’t it at all. It was more of the constant reminder at how much of a failure in comparison that other people tended to see her as. It was so small and petty, and while Katarina knew deep down Ashe meant no harm in it, the reminder of her lack of focus felt worse than usual.

“Too bad it doesn’t run in the family.” Katarina bit out.

“Why would you say that?” 

The directness of the question had Katarina thinking. Why _did_ she say that? She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel.

“Not used to being the family fuck-up, eh?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say you’re not intelligent. I think quite the opposite actually.” Katarina shot over a look of bewilderment. She wasn’t self depreciating, (not normally, at least,) but she had no expectations of the point of views of people around her. Ashe gave her an affirming shrug. “You procrastinate and do the bare minimum, just enough to contribute to a group project. However, in spite of all that, I could tell you really understood that material of the work. I wouldn’t be against grouping up with the two of you for future projects.”

“Are you trying to say that I should be flattered?”

“I didn’t say exactly that, but if you must put it that way, then you can be if you want.” Ashe was smiling, Katarina couldn’t see it, but she could hear it in her voice. “Seriously though, I feel as if when it comes to topics you are actually passionate about, you analyse them with quite a level of depth.”

“And you got all that from one group project and one movie.”

“I’d like to say I’m a pretty good judge of character.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you actually liked me.”

Ashe hummed and Katarina resisted the urge to turn her eyes off the road.

“I wouldn’t go that far. I do find you stubborn… insufferable… infuriatingly lazy at times, but I suppose I don’t dislike you.”

Katarina stopped at the next red, and was finally able to turn her attention back towards her companion. Ashe was still seated the same way, an easy smile on her face. She was messing with her. She must be.

“Well that won’t stop me from disliking you.” Katarina narrowed her eyes defiantly.

Ashe’s smile grew into a smirk that set Katarina’s nerves afire. 

“You say, and yet you offered to drive me to class.”

The light turned green.

“I’m going to kick you out of my car.”

Ashe’s laugh rang out, grinding her gears.

“Okay fine. I’ll stop.” A comfortable silence fell between them for a moment before Ashe spoke again. “Speaking of class, are you ready for the midterm?”

Katarina winced. “I was up late studying but I don’t think I’m confident in some concepts in later chapters of reading.”

“Do you need a review?” Ashe’s question wasn’t accusatory or judging in tone. A genuine offer, it seemed.

Katarina glanced at the clock on her dash. “Fuck it. Why not? We won’t be there for a while. Quiz me.”

The next thirty minutes passed by in a focussed breeze. Ashe quizzed Katarina on modules they had learned throughout the last month and a half of lectures. Surprising herself, Katarina found she retained quite a bit more material from her late night studying haze than she thought she did. Anything she did get stuck on, Ashe refreshed for her, explaining in a way that was easy to digest. Before long, they found themselves pulling into the student lot. No conversation passed as Katarina looked around for a space and parked. She killed the engine and turned to Ashe.

“Hey. Thanks for reviewing with me.” She found herself genuinely meaning it.

“Oh.” Ashe blinked curiously back, seeming to have been taken by surprise. “Consider it a thanks for the ride.”

“You know…” Katarina hesitated. She was about to make an offer she might come to regret in the future. If today was anything to go by, perhaps it wouldn’t be the worst. “If any of our other course timings line up, we can just carpool to and from school. Maybe not from, if you’re gonna continue being a library worm. You have my number now, so just let me know.”

Ashe’s eyebrows shot up. If she was surprised before, she was most definitely shocked now. She recovered quickly, however, perfect smile back on her face—the rapidness of which she was able to do that made Katarina wonder for a moment if it was a usual defense mechanism of hers.

“That’s very kind of you.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and made to exit the car, but turned back to Katarina before getting out. “I’ll think on it.”

Katarina shook her head in disbelief. And she said _she_ was the insufferable one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say I was going finally have more scenes of them interacting.
> 
> Also this chapter, I FINALLY got out the scene with Cass that I've been planning since I first started writing this fic. HEHE.
> 
> Quick note regarding Irelia's adjusted surname: It's not a mistake, I didn't typo. I was trying to apply this to a more real world setting, and trying to connect specific regions to areas, and decided to change her surname every so slightly to match a real world surname that I felt would match Ionian heritage to our world a bit more. Just in case anyone is going to come and me and nitpick lore things. (Speaking of which, as a disclaimer, I don't read 90% of new lore as well.)


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